Around two years ago, I was hired to capture and edit a birthday. There was a contract made, but I cannot find it anymore. I was working for a photo studio at the time and I was around 17 years old. They put a down a non-refundable payment for photo and video. I provided her the photos, but they never got back to me about getting the completed video. The mother said she didn't want to finish paying and she didn't answer any of my calls. Today, she has started to randomly call me and say she wants the video, and has hinted at "seeing me in court." Back then, I made every effort to get the completed video in her hands and to finish payment, but she never did. What should I do?
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Good question Ryan. First you need to look at the appropriate statute of limitation to see if she can still bring a claim. In California, the statute of limitations for a breach of contract action is 4 years. You will have to check in your jurisdiction for the appropriate statute of limitations. You might be able to void the contract since you were a minor when you entered into the agreement. Generally, a contract with a minor is voidable by the minor unless ratified as an adult. In other words, you would technically be able to get out of your contract since you made it before you turned 18. However, you might not want to void this contract. She still owes you money. You can also likely file a counterclaim against her for the amount she never paid. It may actually be to your benefit for her to sue, since you could get your full payment! In sum, this should never go to court. If she wants the video, she can pay the rest of the fee. If she refuses to pay, you could give her the video and sue her for the amount she owes you. Or you can wait for her to file suit and file a counterclaim for the amount she owes. Look for any evidence you might have that will make your position stronger. Then try to negotiate a solution out of court. Good luck!
P.S. This is for informational purposes only. I am not your attorney and we have not entered into an attorney client relationship. Nothing you say will remain confidential. |
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Ok, well since you do not have the video any longer the whole thing is sort of moot. If a contract does not specify a period of time for performance, a court will generally allow a reasonable time. Two years seems like an awful long time to be reasonable. At this point, you also have the excuse of impossibility. Since you no longer have the video you cannot perform under the terms of the contract. Maybe someone with a little better knowledge of the impossibility defense can jump in here and help out with this one. A broader point is that if she were to file a suit against you, she would have the burden of proof. That means that she must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that what she said happened, happened. In other words, you don't have to prove that you're right, just that she's wrong, if that makes sense. You do bring up an interesting point though. Did you let her know that you were recording your conversations when the recording occurred? If not you may be in violation of various state and federal laws that could bring stiff financial penalties, i.e. thousands of dollars per violation. Hope this helps. |
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