Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

preschool fees

Hi,

We are moving to a new town about 4 hours away, and had called up a preschool to reserve a slot for our son; we paid a $30 deposit to hold a slot for him, but did not sign any enrollment agreement since we wanted to check the place out when we went out in a few weeks time (mid-Sept). Subsequently we had cold feet (based on word-of-mouth reviews of the school) and did not send him to the school when it started on Sept 1 (and we also did not sign the enrollment agreement). Now the school calls and says that as per the school enrollment agreeement we have to pay them almost $600 for the first month since we did not cancel the agreement formally. If we refuse to pay they are going to ask their law firm to start proceedings against us. However, we never signed the enrollment agreement and had only sent in the registration fee; does this still mean we have to follow the rules of the enrollment agreement? And if not, how can we approach this/ resolve this without it getting nasty and financially costly?


Asked on 9/13/07, 11:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark S. Moroknek Kelly & Curtis, PLLC.

Re: preschool fees

If they attempt to sue you,or their attorneys start sending letters or serve you with a summons, you should retain counsel immediately. Unfortunately, you cannot prevent the commencment of a meritless suit but you can defend it. In fact, you might suggest arbitration or binding mediation.

If you are sued, a motion to dismiss should resolve this.

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Answered on 9/16/07, 12:16 am


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