Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: what is a deposit exactly?

It sells to me like there was a binding contract for the singer to perform at the party for certain fee. This contract would be binding on both sides. If the singer were not able to find another engagement for the same date because of the late cancellation, the senior would not only be able to keep the deposit but could probably sue for the entire fee.

Re: what is a deposit exactly?

It sounds very much as though the singer was under contract to perform,and the contract was breached. If so, the issue is not whether the deposit should be refunded, but what is the proper measure of the singer's damages.

Possibly you are fortunate that the singer is willing to accept the deposit in lieu of sueing for the full fee. On the other hand, if the singer could have 'mitigated' his damages by accepting another engagement, the forfeiture of the deposit might be an excessive amount of 'damages' for the breach of the contract.

The only way to know for sure would be to go to trial and see what a jury (or judge) would find. A good contract attorney could evaluate the facts and make an educated guess as to whether, in fairness, you could expect to recover some or all of the deposit, or whether the singer would prevail and you would owe more, perhaps up to the full contract price, plus his costs and legal fees.

There are some cases that excuse performance under a contract due to hardship or 'frustration of purpose,' but postponement of a party due to a death in the family probably doesn't work.

This is just a case of breach of contract and the legal issue here is the proper measure of the singer's damages.