Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Zero. A verbal agreement to not cash a check is unenforceable. A sale takes place once there has been a meeting of the minds on the price and a commitment has been made.

Regards,

Roger

Since you filed suit, do you have an attorney? It is not ethical for me to jump in if you have an attorney. I am going to assume that you filed pro se (on your own) in district magistrate's court(small claims).

Jet skis are no different than a car. You put down a deposit - you entered into a contract to buy them. If you were not sure, you should not have given the deposit. Agreements about the check are worthless and unenforceable.

The dealer can possibly sue you for loss of his profit from the sale. Has he asserted a counter-claim? He may not want to go to the hassle. But he sure is not going to give you any money back.

What does the jet ski contract say about liquidated damages if you break the contract? It may provide that any deposits are forfeited since you are the one that broke the contract by not following through on your promise to buy the jet skis.

However, all of that said, district magistrates can do what they want. One may be sympathetic to you depending on the circumstances. Tell your side of the story to the judge and see what happens.