Calling all GC lawyers! - friend needs small claims advice

[navane]

Hi!

Here's a way for all of you GC lawyers and legal fans to keep your knowledge in shape. I've seen how some of you have been really helpful to others in the past and I'm hoping you can help today.

A friend of mine, (no it's NOT me), is having tro uble with a beauty pageant director. This young lady, let's call her "Amy", paid $175 to be in the pageant. The price included entry into the national competition, and a sash and crown for her local title. Amy entered and paid sometime at the beginning of the year and she has received her local title crown and sash. However, the pageant was supposed to be in January of 2002 (9 months ago) but the director delayed it to October, then November and now next year. The director would not respond to e-mails, and took her address and phone number off of the website.

Amy and some other contestants were apalled at the lack of communication and value for their money. They believe that they are being strung along and that the pageant will never happen. So th ey started threatening to sue. The director finally replied and said that she'd roll over their entry fees to next year's contest. Not wanting to participate at all anymore, Amy asked for a refund. The director replied stating that their contract stipu lates that refunds will not be given in full or in part under any circumstance.

Amy then told the director that she would take her to court. The director, in turn, offered Amy $75 of the $175 as a sort of gesture of goodwill. Amy has less than 30 d ays to accept or reject this offer. Additionally, the director has now banned Amy from the national competition.

Amy thinks that the director did not fulfill her end of the bargain by not providing a service (the pageant) in a reasonable amount of ti me. She paid for this year's contest, not next year's. Additionally, Amy cannot currently fulfill her end of her supposed obligations of she is now banned from participating! Amy thinks she's entitled to the full amount back and she's even offered to r eturn the unused crown and sash.

hehehe....now, I used to watch a lot of People's Court as a kid (and still do!) I can recall cases where a business person wouldn't give a refund simply because they had a "no refunds" sign up behind the counter or the receipt said no refunds. I think the law says that businesses can't hide behind that if they are completely negligent in providing a service or product.

I mean, if the law allowed that, then wouldn't that open up a major fraud loophole? I could go and open up a taco stand, take money, cook nothing, point to a sign in the store and then say "sorry, no refunds" to every customer!!

Can someone give any advice in this situation? If it helps to know, Amy resides in Texas and the pageant director is based out of Utah.

I appreciate any comments - I'm sure Amy and the other contestants would be happy to hear your comments! Thanks a bunch!

......Kelly r

[SATX*APhi]

Note: I am not an attorney; therefore, I am not allowed to give any sort of legal advice. I will tell you what I would do though.

I used to work in Small Claims Court, so I know about the procedures. First off, filing a Small Claims Suit costs $77 which can be recovered by the defendant if the Judge rules in favor of the plaintiff (Amy), but that will have to be a chance she is willing to take. You say that the pageant director is in Utah and that Amy is in Texas. If Amy were to file a Small Claims Suit against the pageant director, she would have to do so in Utah, not Texas. If a Judge in Texas even allowed Amy to file the suit in his/her court, the pageant director has the right to request that the case be transferred to her county in Utah, which would cost Amy more money to transfer the case. To actually go to Utah for court would also cost more money, thus being more expensive than the $175 Amy is wanting to sue for. As much as it sucks though, I would go for the $75 -- at least it is something.

BTW: There is also a statue of limitation, which I am thinking is two years after the exchange.

[texas*princess]

Wow that is definately not cool. I think perhaps the pagent director should be reported immediately so this situation does NOT happen to anyone in the future. It should not have happened in the first place. That is major fraud.

Just a lil info : I am in no way a lawyer!!! I'm just a business major

SATX is right about the statute of limitations... depending on whether it was an oral or written contract, she has two-five years. I would also have to agree that it might cost more money to take the case to court than if she settled for the $75.

I think this pagent representative should be reported to the authorities!!!

[KillarneyRose]

Originally posted by navane
A friend of mine, (no it's NOT me), is having tro uble with a beauty pageant director....

Kelly, whatever happened with this?

How's that for timing?

About a minute after I pressed post, the regional manager called me, we talked, and she's refunding my money.

Woo-hoo!

[Kevin]

Originally posted by Ginger
Bumping this thread....

I need small claims advice! I'm wondering if it's worth taking it to court, or if I should just forget about it and eat the money.

Basically, one of the vendors for my wedding broke their contract, claimed I broke the contract, and charged a $250 cancellation fee to my credit card. I've worked my way up through the ranks (it's a hotel where i had a block of rooms reserved for my guests) and hope to talk to the regional manager today. If she isn't willing to reverse the charges, it's been suggested to me that I file a small claims suit. I've already put a record on file with my credit card company that I'm disputing the charge, so I won't get charged interest on the amount until it gets resolved.

Here's my question... I used to work in a small law firm, and we handled a few small claims cases. I know that there's a $80-some dollar filing fee, and a lot of paper work.... I'm wondering if it's even worth the hassle. On one hand, getting the remainder of that $150 or so back would be nice, but is it worth my time?

Ginger, you're attacking the problem from the wrong side.

Just contact your credit card and dispute the charges. That makes it your credit card's problem, not yours

Thanks!

Yeah, I had done that as soon as the charge came through... never heard anything more about it though, so I pursued it myself.

Luckily, it's all taken care of now

[navane]

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
Kelly, whatever happened with this?

I'm not sure if my friend ever took the director to court or not. However, I can tell you that everyone heard about this director and she's basically been shunned from the "pageant community". Everyone is still smarting from that awful situation (my friend wasn't the only one). As a result, this director's days in pageantry are pretty much over. I don't get the impression that she'll ever get contestants for anything again. It was just that bad.


.....Kelly