Tuition, Private Elementary School, Child won't be attending and don't want to pay OR

[mrerikmt]

Oregon

My wife signed a contract for our daughter to attend a private elementary school this fall. The contract was signed in January.

In the meantime our daughter was lottery'd into a free charter school.

We want to our daughter to attend the free charter school, but the private school says we're on the hook for the entire years tuition at their school.

Do we have any way out of the contract?

A friend told me (I know, I know, not a good idea to take friend advice at face value) that in Oregon there is something to do with "Services Unfulfilled" that gets you out of a contract like this.

Does this sound right?

Any direction or advice is appreciated, and thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Just Blue]

Oregon

My wife signed a contract for our daughter to attend a private elementary school this fall. The contract was signed in January.

In the meantime our daughter was lottery'd into a free charter school.

We want to our daughter to attend the free charter school, but the private school says we're on the hook for the entire years tuition at their school.

Do we have any way out of the contract?

A friend told me (I know, I know, not a good idea to take friend advice at face value) that in Oregon there is something to do with "Services Unfulfilled" that gets you out of a contract like this.

Does this sound right?

Any direction or advice is appreciated, and thanks in advance for any help.

When did you notify the school that Jr. would not attend?

 

[Taxing Matters]

Oregon

Any direction or advice is appreciated, and thanks in advance for any help.

You are free to breach the contract and refuse to pay if the contract itself does not give you an out. The issue then is what the consequence is to your wife for doing that. The school would be entitled to sue your wife for the damages it suffered by the breach. If the school could not fill the slot with another kid (and assuming it made a reasonable effort to do so) then your wife might be on the hook for the tuition she agreed to pay as the school otherwise loses that money and thus does not get the promised benefit of the contract. On the other hand, if the school can fill the slot for the same tuition your wife agreed to pay then the school has not lost any money on this and would not win anything if the school sued. The less time the school has to find a replacement, the more likely it is that your wife might be obligated to pay up. It's almost August already, so there likely is not a whole lot of time left. Most families will have already committed their kids to schools, so it might be tough at this point to fill it. If the amount involved here is significant, you may want to take the contract to a contract attorney in Oregon and ask about your options and what risks you have in breaching the contract if there is option in the contract that lets you out.

 

[Zigner]

You are free to breach the contract and refuse to pay if the contract itself does not give you an out. The issue then is what the consequence is to your wife for doing that. The school would be entitled to sue your wife for the damages it suffered by the breach. If the school could not fill the slot with another kid (and assuming it made a reasonable effort to do so) then your wife might be on the hook for the tuition she agreed to pay as the school otherwise loses that money and thus does not get the promised benefit of the contract. On the other hand, if the school can fill the slot for the same tuition your wife agreed to pay then the school has not lost any money on this and would not win anything if the school sued. The less time the school has to find a replacement, the more likely it is that your wife might be obligated to pay up. It's almost August already, so there likely is not a whole lot of time left. Most families will have already committed their kids to schools, so it might be tough at this point to fill it. If the amount involved here is significant, you may want to take the contract to a contract attorney in Oregon and ask about your options and what risks you have in breaching the contract if there is option in the contract that lets you out.

It may not matter in the least if the school fills the position or not.

 

[LdiJ]

It may not matter in the least if the school fills the position or not.

That would be up to a local attorney to determine.

 

[Zigner]

That would be up to a local attorney to determine.

No...it wouldn't.

 

[quincy]

It may not matter in the least if the school fills the position or not.

Agreed. The contract that was signed can spell out damages for breaching the terms, regardless of whether the space reserved for mrerikmt's child in the school is filled or not.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Agreed. The contract that was signed can spell out damages for breaching the terms, regardless of whether the space reserved for mrerikmt's child in the school is filled or not.

The contract certainly may do that. However, assuming that is not the case, I stand by what I said earlier about the measurement of damages for the breach.

 

[Zigner]

The contract certainly may do that. However, assuming that is not the case, I stand by what I said earlier about the measurement of damages for the breach.

That's covered by my use of the word "may"

 

[quincy]

And it was covered by my use of the word "can."

 

[Zigner]

And it was covered by my use of the word "can."

Definitely!

 

[CTU]

Which are different from "will" and "shall"

 

[LdiJ]

No...it wouldn't.

So, you are saying that our advice is better than the advice of a local attorney who can actually READ the contract to see what it says?

 

[quincy]

So, you are saying that our advice is better than the advice of a local attorney who can actually READ the contract to see what it says?

I certainly didn't get that from Zigner's posts.

It is because none of us have access to the contract that none of us should make DEFINITIVE statements. The contract could include a cancellation clause, for example, that imposes a specific penalty.

Contracts need to be read in their entirety and evaluated as a whole, in addition to analyzing the separate clauses and the words used. It would never be up to an attorney to decide, however, what the school can and cannot do. The attorney can offer an educated opinion based on his personal review.

 

[Zigner]

So, you are saying that our advice is better than the advice of a local attorney who can actually READ the contract to see what it says?

What Quincy said. Also, you said that the matter would be up to an attorney to determine, and that is what I disagreed with you about. The attorney won't decide the matter. The attorney may (and should) advise on the matter, but the attorney won't ultimately decide it.