Legal Question in Business Law in Wisconsin

Only a judge or a jury can decide whether or not something is legal, although the rest of us can take educated guesses. Mine is this; depending upon the amount of money involved, a written contract may not be required and a verbal or implied contract might apply. This type of contract can provide for losing the deposit if you cancel the event within a certain time period beforehand. The purpose of a deposit is to show that you are serious about the reservation, along with a right of the vendor to forfeit the deposit if you back out of the deal. The law allows deposits of this nature to protect vendors who may suffer legitimate damages due to giving up other potential customers for the night of your event or due to money they may have already spent on food or staffing for your event. Obviously, I know nothing about your negotiations or correspondence with the caterer, but all of them can serve as evidence of an implied contract, including "he said/she said" testimony if smaller amounts are at stake. Likewise, the simple behavior of posing the deposit may tell the story. After all, why else would they make you post it if they did not intend to keep in the event that you canceled? My comments here are intended to apply to similar situations commonly faced by many, but not particularly to your case, and are offered for public education only. You should therefore consult with your own lawyer or consider retaining one. Since I am not yet your attorney, I will not be taking any action on your case unless you retain me. Disclosure of confidential information in a public web forum is not recommended and is always subject to possible use against you later, in court. You are welcome to contact with further questions at my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090, or email me at [email protected]. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. Also see over fifteen hundred of my past answers arranged by topic at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon. Web forum answers may contain attorney advertising materials.