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wedding photographer

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will b

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? New Mexico

My wife and me got married this past May. We hired a photographer to photograph the moment. We paid the guy upfront and expected the photos to be delivered in a month or two. It has been 5 months now and still no photos of the event. My wife signed a contract with an arbitration clause. We have tried to handle the matter with out litigtion but, it seems hopeless. My perception would be to contact the authorities and use a long arm warrent since the guy lives in Texas. He does business in New Mexico. He has sent e-mails to indicate that he has sent the photos but, we haven't seen or signed any registration forms from letter carriers.
-Would this be considered theft?
-My question would be could I have an arrest warrent sworn out for him?
-How would this affect if the contract indicated that all matters are to be held in arbitration when he refuses to deliver the finished product?
-Should I get an attorney involved?
-Could I sue for punative damages when aribitration is complete?
 


shortbus

Member
+ it is not theft. It is breach of contract.

+ You cannot get an arrest warrant. It is a civil dispute. Not criminal.

+ if you agreed to arbitration in the contract, you can't file suit against him in a state court -- in doing so YOU would breach the contract. You can initiate an arbitration proceeding according to the terms of the contract.

+ Depends how much the case is worth to you. I imagine if the photographer got one call from a lawyer he'd get those photos out pretty quickly. He wants to avoid legal costs as much as you do.

+ Punitive damages are very, very rare in contract cases. In short, no.
 

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