Legal Question in Business Law in California

You could file a lawsuit, but I wouldn't go into court with the "I didn't read my contract" argument.

Contract rules, unless you can prove it was unconscionable.

What Mr. Roach means is that the law holds you to what is in your written contract regardless of whether you read it, once you sign it. So unless you lacked capacity to contract, or lacked the ability to understand what you were signing, not knowing what was in the contract is no excuse from being bound by its terms.

In your situation, however, there may be another legal principal that could help you. Non-refundablle deposits are in the nature of a penalty or forfieture. Penalties and forfeitures in contracts are illegal unless they qualify as liquidated damages provisions. The key feature of a valid liquidated damages clause is that the amount must be a reasonable approximation of what the other party would lose in case of breach of the contract. Most savy caterers, therefore, have sliding scale cancellation charges that provide for a modest charge for an early cancellation, to cover consultation costs and lost profit, but that's it. The charges go up from there as you get closer to the event, up to and including payment in full if the food has been ordered and staff hired, etc. If your contract just forfeits the deposit with no rational relation to the caterer's losses for you breaching the contract at that stage of the process, you may be able to convince a small claims judge to order a partial or full refund.

I hope this is the last time you ever, ever sign a contract without reading it.

I agree with the second part of Mr. McCormick's response. Your best bet is to analyze whether the deposit is considered an adequate liquidated damages provision, or an unconscionable penalty. The law will not support a penalty, but it will support a liquidated damages provision for your breach. But your focus should not be on a failure to read the contract.

You can sue, and lose, and get hit with his attorney fees too.