T
Tom CS
Guest
- Jurisdiction
- Florida
My fiancé signed a contract with a wedding photographer (in her haste to plan things), paid a $1,000 "non-refundable" deposit, and then canceled the contract precisely three weeks later. We live in Florida but are getting married in South Carolina. The wedding photographer is in South Carolina. The contract was signed in late September 2016 for a date of May 12, 2017, and lists both of our names. The contract was canceled in early October 2016 (seven months before the date that the service was to take place). The reason for canceling is probably not important, but for the sake of completeness, is simply due to finding out that a friend is available to do it; someone we know, are comfortable with, and is much less expensive to boot. My understanding of the purpose and legality of the non-refundable deposit, is to protect the photographer in the case of short notice cancelations, due to the loss of income (because of the the fact that the time slot was reserved and can not be easily re-booked), and the reality that some preparations would have been made y the photographer already. I understand that even though the full service has not taken place, the "consideration" is the reservation of the time slot. However, I don't think that us having a contract is place for only three weeks, and then cancelling it seven months in advance puts the photographer in any potential danger to lose income, or that it is likely that the time slot is still "reserved" for us, or that any preparation was done. We have asked the photographer for a return of the deposit via email (all communication was via email), explaining the logic, but have not even received a response. 1) Am my way off base in my thinking? 2) Can I sue the photographer under these circumstances with a realistic expectation of a judge siding with me? 3) Where can I sue? (Florida, perhaps, since we live here, and the contract was signed here?)