Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: Getting out of a Contract

The obligations of a party to a contract can be extinguished by performance, rescission, by breach followed by settlement or judgment for damages, and a few other ways (novation, accord and satisfaction, or judicial determination that the contract is void).

You don't want to perform, and you probably don't have grounds for rescission, but let's consider that briefly. Among the possible grounds for rescission are unilateral mistake. The types of "mistake" that would allow you to rescind do not include poor judgment or failure to read the contract, however. Rescission is also possible where your agreement was procured by fraudulent misrepresentation, or where there is a "failure of consideration," i.e., you are not getting what was promised you when it was promised to you.

Some types of deals like home solicitation contracts can be rescinded within a specific statutory time frame, but this is not true of most contracts, and after a month most of the statutory rescission rights would have expired. Three business days is typical; some go out to seven business days.

If you have already paid the $6,000, breaching the contract probably won't help; you could send them a notice of cancellation and sue for the unearned balance of your $6,000 in small claims court on the ground that they had not earned the $6,000 and it would be excessive as liquidated damages for your breach. The result is uncertain.