Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Verbal Contract?

I entered into an oral agreement with a therapist agreeing to pay him--name removed--60 per visit. His regular fee was 90 but he said that I could pay him 60 dollars per visit. He said I could pay him the rest of the money(the difference)later. "If in the future you can pay me back then I would like the remainder of the money if you are unable to pay me back then you owe me nothing." We never discussed the mounting dept in the next 2 years. We eventually had a conversation and I told him that I thought it was a sliding scale but he says that I owe him money. After I explained that I had no idea I was incurring such a debt and that I would NEVER have continued seeing him if I new the real debt he said he felt partly responsible for not communicating to me what was owed and that he would cut what I owed him in half of the money. Does he have a case.


Asked on 9/08/00, 9:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Verbal Contract?

My opinion (which may differ with others) is that so long as the services were properly performed you received the benefit of the treatments and that the therapist would be legally entitled to the agreed upon fee, what you have stated as $60 per visit.

From your facts, you state that you believed that you were to pay a reduced fee ($60). Thus, there is a reasonable expectation that an agreement to pay had been made and is likely to be enforceable.

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Answered on 10/10/00, 5:06 pm


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