Legal Question in Administrative Law in California
I have an elderly family member who signed a contract to be put into an assisted living facility and then a few hours later changed his decision to be put in that facility. The facility is requiring payment in full even though my family member backed out of the contract within 24 hours of signing. My family member lives in California where there is a 72 hour cooling off law. Does this law apply to this situation or does my family member bound by this contract and would owe money?
2 Answers from Attorneys
There is no 'cooling off' law except as to door to door peddlers. However, if the person did not move into the facility, and cancelled before the facility could 'rely' on the contract to their detriment, that contract is 'easily' rescinded for several legal reasons. It may take counsel to make that happen, so if you can't get it done yourself, feel free to contact me for help.
If the contract was binding when signed by the parties, "detrimental reliance" isn't a factor. In this respect, I disagree somewhat with Mr. Nelson. However, if your family member promptly notifies the assisted living facility of his intent NOT to honor the contract, the damages for his breach of the contract should be minimal, and the assisted living facility would, in my opinion, be foolhardy to sue for such a breach.
For the record, I also think Mr. Nelson somewhat understates the number of types of contracts where the law provides a "cooling off" period. For a more complete listing, see the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau's Web page at:
http://www.la.bbb.org/GIReport.aspx?DocumentID=72
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