Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Just another wedding disaster

It sounds like your coordinator is being a bit unreasonable here, but I don't have all the information I would need -- about the circumstances and, most importantly, about your contracts.

I would need to see your contract with the facility and the planner in order to give you a meaningful analysis. It doesn't sound like the facility was actually closed by the fire, and your inability to get there may not be a sufficient excuse to get you out of your obligations. There are reasonably well-established rules about what happens when performing a contract unexpectedly becomes impossible, but that may not be what happened here.

If the vendors were not aware in time that you wanted them called off and they did their best to perform, then you may have to pay them. After all, it is no more their fault this happened than it is yours, but they were working for you and could have spent the day doing another job instead.

There are factors working on your side here, though. If your call to the coordinator was early enough to prevent the caterer, etc., from doing some of their work, then the responsibility for these unnecessary charges may be the coordinaor's and not yours. Again, though, this would depend on what your contract says.

Re: Just another wedding disaster

You'd better read your catering hall rental agreement. Sometime they provide for release of the parties, if there is a disaster which reasonably requires cancelling. The fact that some daring caterers got there does not necessarily prove that it wasn't reasonable to be excused from performance. Sometime there is not such a provision. Your relationship and rights and obligations are governed by that agreement. . . so, READ IT OVER.

Re: Just another wedding disaster

we certainly empathize with the unfortunate situation you are facing right now, not to mention the implorable conduct by your wedding coordinator by not even making a simple effort to work with you based on the fires. from a legal standpoint, you may have VERY strong rights in this situation and should take action if at all plausible in our opinion at least. you may want to consult with an attorney to go over your actual contract with this wedding coordinator and/or any vendors you may have contracted with therein. the language of the agreement typically will control, however, if no provisions are made, you may still have a VERY valid excuse for not fulfilling your conditions of the contract based upon various legal theories such as impossibility, frustration of purpose, etc...

if you would like a free phone consultation outlining all of your rights and remedies regarding your case, email us directly with your contact information today. we wish you the very best with the outcome of this very unfortunate situation.

Re: Just another wedding disaster

Hi - Without the benefit of reviewing your contract, I'm not really able to offer you any legal guidance, except that I agree with those opinions expressed by the other attorneys who have replied to your inquiry. What I can offer you is my unqualified moral support, and I hope that you're able to obtain your refund and also punitive damages against this so-called "wedding coordinator" for causing you so much grief and aggravation. I am an attorney admitted in California, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and I review no less than 25 of these legal questions every day. I can't begin to tell you how many of them deal with unscrupulous "wedding planners" who swipe deposits, overcharge, misrepresent themselves, and in the end, completely screw up and tarnish the weddings that they were hired to make special and perfect.

The solution, being somewhat tongue in cheek here, force wedding planners to walk the same plank as the lawyers, massage therapists, talent agents and day care providers: force them to become licensed by the State of California and condition their license on a clean criminal background check. I have to think that at least a few of these so-called "wedding planners" are ex-cons and rip-off artists who have really discredited this line of work for the honest wedding coordinators out there, and it's a real shame too.

Don't be afraid to fight this one out - if not for the money then at least for the principle of the matter.

Wishing You the Very Best of Luck -

Len Foy

Re: Just another wedding disaster

Wow, in 30 years of practice and had very few situations where in the legal theory of impossibility of performance could realistically be used to cancel a contract. In this case, based upon the fax you have told me there is little doubt in my mind that your wedding planner screwed up big-time. If I were aghast at your wedding I would not have been there. It really doesn't matter that they were able to cook the food as it seems to me no one would show up anyway. More importantly, I think you should have attempted to call, and start a calling tree of people, to call the guests Intel in the wedding "of course" was called off. It will depend upon the fax and how well they are presented but you should receive your refund. It should come from the wedding planner. I think she would than anyone is responsible for this situation based upon the information that she gave to the vendors after your specific instructions, given the situation of the danger of the fire.i have been practicing law in this speciality for over 30 years in the san francisco bay area and if you wish to consult with me you can contact me at 925-945-6000. get an attorney immediatly.

Re: Just another wedding disaster

Much depends on the contracts, but the coordinator acted in bad faith.

Joel Selik

San Diego 760-479-1515

www.SelikLaw.com