Verbal Contract

[texast2]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Short summary:
I hired an Off Duty Police Officer (Verbal Agreement for services),
paid him in advance to do a service. After 2 hours into the service, he made a bad judgement call and voided our Agreement.
Question is. Is there some kind of resources to hold him to the Verbal Contract?

It's a long and complicated story , but this is the short of it all. He did not perform the duties I hired him to do.
Any comments will be appreciated.
Thank you

 

[JETX]

We would need to know ALL the facts to be able to answer your question. For example, what were the circumstances of the claimed 'bad judgment call'??
Also, what 'services' had you hired the Off-Duty for??

 

[texast2]

Thank You VETX, I have been told you can give some good advice. To make a long story short (if I can). Please excuse my spelling. Okay, here I go.
I have custody. My ex had visitation. I live in Texas, the ex in Ky. We had a hearing on his visitation, here in Texas. My ex told the Judge that he would just kidnapp our daughter and he wouldn't have to worry about any visitation. Well , you can imagine how the Judge responded to that. The Judge ordered that all visitation from that point on would be supervised by someone of the law. Meaning a police officer, child protective service, ect.....
I contacted an Off-Duty POlice officer, made arrangments, gave him copies of the Orders fromthe judge, and gave him exact orders to not at any time let my daughter get out of his sight. Not for any reason.
Well I could make this story long, but I won't. Within 2 hours of the time I met the officer and my ex, I receive a call from a police dept. in another town and they told me my daughter had been abducted by her father. At that point almost 3 hours had gone by. When I got to that station, the Police officer I had hired, he had already made his statement to that dept and asked to be put in a seperate room where I couldn't question him. In his statement he said, " I turned away from them for just a minute , and they were gone". After my ex was found, the Texas Rangers brought my daughter home, brought my ex back to Texas to jail. My ex told how things happened, and everyone wondering if he is telling the truth or not, but he said that he talked the officer into letting him go and giving him at least an hour before he went to the police. He also provided a note with the Police Officers name and addy with his phone number on it that was written on a piece of a napkin, in the Police Officers hand writing. My ex also said that the officer took $200. and wished him luck.
Now, all this is still under investigation of course, but my question is:
The officer admitting that he turned his back, (only for a minute) , wouldn't that be a breech of our contract. Which I should say was all done over the phone and threw his Chief. Regardless as to everything else that happened that day. By the way, that Officer was let go by the dept he was working for at the time this happened. The discharge papers say, Discharged for Action Unbecoming . Something to that effect, I will look it up and repost.

Any input you have is appreciated.
Thanks Again

 

[JETX]

"The officer admitting that he turned his back, (only for a minute) , wouldn't that be a breech of our contract."
*** If presented in just the right 'light' to a court, it might be possible that they would find the individual failed in his obligation to perform. But that will definitely not be worth the ordeal and cost of a lawsuit. The simple matter is, other than emotional distress due to his failure, you haven't really been 'damaged'. And to pursue any claim against him would have to be in County or District court..... and require an attorney. It would probably cost you several thousand dollars to bring the issue to court....with no assurance of success.

"Which I should say was all done over the phone and threw his Chief. Regardless as to everything else that happened that day. By the way, that Officer was let go by the dept he was working for at the time this happened."
*** In my opinion, this is about the best you can hope for. Your daughter is back (hopefully uninjured), your 'ex' will be facing justice for his action and the now ex-officer won't be in a position to do this to anyone else. Trust me, a police officer terminated under these circumstances will very likely NOT be performing law enforcement duties in the future.

"The discharge papers say, Discharged for Action Unbecoming . Something to that effect, I will look it up and repost."
*** One suggestion. Make sure that his Texas Peace Officer certification has been revoked. That would be the end of his law enforcement career. The certification is regulated by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
http://www.tcleose.state.tx.us/index.htm

 

[texast2]

Thank you again for your reply. I have talked to my attorney about this and he suggested that i handle it threw small claims, just because of what the cost would be for him to file a law suit.
I looked up the info about his discharge, and it reads,
Department Information:
Resigned without two weeks notice after attending a show cause hearing for dismissal. Officer was accused of conduct unbecoming an officer. Not eligible for rehire, did not leave in good standing.

I found out not to long ago that he is employeed by another Police Dept. not to far from where I live. I called his chief at the new location, and he had no knowledge of his prior employement problems.
I have filed a small claims suit against him, and just thought I could get some advise on how to handle this when I get there. I am asking that he reimburse me of the cost's of the money I had to spend in the returning of my child. All airline tickets for my daughter and the 2 Texas Rangers that went to get her, as well as all the Legal fee's in the process of all this.
Do you think that is unreasonable for me to ask of this??
Is there anything I can do to help support my case against him, such as submit his statements to the police, or any other evidence I have?
Thanks for your help.