LEGAL QUESTIONS: can a lawyer take a look at this please!!! do i have rights????

[czar of bizarre]

ok guys i dont know where else to post this question so im gonna post it here. let me tell you the situation before i ask the question.

on 10/16/01 i went to a studio and left a deposit for block time. the block time was $600 for 20 hours and i left a deposit of $200. before i even went to the guys studio i stressed the IMPORTANCE of my time line. i needed to finish the project in one weeks time with the week starting on the 22nd of october. we would go 4 hours a day for the entire week to finish the project.

the owner of the studio calls me on the 19th to tell me that his computer hard drive has blown up and that we wont be able to record. i ask him when will he be able to record and he states he will be down for a week. this puts me at a disadvantage because i only have one week to record. so i tell the guy that i would tell the other guys in my crew and we will see but i cant promise anything. he says to keep him informed so i do. two days later i call this guy and i tell him the guys are looking into other options as far as recording. he goes on to state that he will only be down for a week and its not his fault. so i tell him thats true but we had a timeline that we needed to go by.

now i will fast forward to yesterday. i talked to the guy and i told him i wanted a refund on my deposit. he goes on to say that he doesnt offer refunds and that its posted in his establishment (he had a sign posted but not one regarding refunds). however this is an excerpt from his web site:

"Deposit will not be refunded for any sessions cancelled without at least 48hr notice."

i didnt cancel the session he did due to his equipment failure. now on my invoice it says the following:

"Block time purchases are non-refundable partially nor in full"

here are the questions:

since this guy didnt honor our agreement to start recording and because i have not received any services am i entitled to a refund?

i didnt SIGN any documents with him but it is noted that i paid for time. i guess i entered into a contract when i payed for the time and received an invoice.

can our contract/agreement/deal be made VOID because of cancellation on his part? can it be made void because i am no longer satisfied with his services/quality of equipment? or because of his equipment failure?


any help, comments,www links to penal code or retail law would be appreciated. thanks.



czar of bizarre

[mikeh]

I'm not a lawyer, but I do deal with contracts often in my day gig, and have had hours of conversations with our corporate legal people about contracts.

So, do not consider this legal advice, simply a relatively informed opinion!!!

You and the studio did enter into an implied contract. I think the studio would be hard pressed to prove you "cancelled" the sessions - clearly, the studio failed to meet the obligation to start the sessions on 10/22/01.

In my opinion, you would probably win a judgement for the return of the $200 in a court of law, but a lawyer will cost way more than the $200 you seek. Your best bet is to file a complaint in Small Claims Court (you would be limited to $5,000 in most states). If you can prove you paid the $200 and that you received no services you should win the $200. If you can prove additional damages (likely much harder to prove) you can seek more than $200.

A key legal question (regarding additional damages) would be what damages did you suffer since the recording was not done in time. Did you lose gigs? Did you miss a chance for a management deal? Why could you not agree to start recording after the 22nd? Can you provide proof that you did indeed incure additional costs by starting a session elsewhere on the 22nd?

I would send him a letter explaining your reasoning for wanting a refund and explain that you intend to pursue legal actions. Make sure you send copies to the guys in your band (and show them as "cc" on the letter - so the studio knows that more than one person is involved). If nothing else the studio may be willing to offer part of the refund back. If not, you have the option of Small Claims Court. If you get lucky, the studiodude won't show and you would win by default. Unfortunately, it's clear the studio does not care about you as a client (or about thier reputation)- even if you win a judgement you will be lucky if he actually pays.

Consider this one in many harsh lessons on the "business" side of the music business. Good Luck!!!