Legal Question in Business Law in New Hampshire

Verbal Contract

Feb 2004 my fiance signed a contract with a photographer for the date of Aug 26. Sept 2004 we called the photographer to change the date of the wedding for Dec 31 2004. Both my fiance and the photographer verbally agreed on the new fee and date. One week later we cancelled with the photographer and now he will not give our deposit back. Now, he never mailed the first contract to us, which he says it states that there will be no refunds. But, him and my finace verbally agreed on this new contract for Dec 31 which the only terms agreed upon were the new date and fee. He never voiced to us that there would be no refunds. He is telling us that he is not giving our money back because he had Aug 26 booked, but we are giving him a 10 month window to book a new session and he stated to me that he books very quickly so I don't see the harm of giving our deposit back.


Asked on 10/15/04, 9:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Len Foy NH Residential Title & Escrow

Re: Verbal Contract

Greetings -

My name is Len Foy and I am an attorney with Gould & Gould - we're located in Londonderry NH.

In response to your question, I have a few thoughts . . . First, I like your logic, if the photographer wasn't too inconvenienced to move your date from August to December, then how can s/he turn around and cite "inconvenience" or "missed business opportunity" as justification for retaining your deposit once you cancelled (or attempted to cancel) the agreement altogether. Notwithstanding that argument, in my experience the courts are inclined to enforce agreements which are entered into voluntarily and which are essentially fair. In cases involving deposits, the keeping of deposits, etc., the issue often turns on the amount of the deposit itself (sometimes measured as a percentage of the entire contract). How much was the deposit? Was it only a few hundred dollars or was it an exorbitant amount? If the deposit is/was reasonable, and if you knew that it was not refundable when you gave it to the photographer, then you may be out of luck.

But if you're determined to recover the deposit - you could always sue the photographer in small claims court, the paperwork is relatively simple to complete and at least that way you'll be able to have a judge review the agreement and decide the matter.

Good luck resolving this matter -

Regards -

Len Foy

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Answered on 10/16/04, 12:49 pm


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