What does the CONTRACT say?Moops said:My daughter was to be married in New Orleans on September 16, 2005. The florist we contracted with for the date and venue was not open for business on September 16 or for awhile after the hurricane and has $1000 deposit from us for the original date. No flowers had been ordered and we received nothing from them. The designer that we consulted with and who was to design the flower arrangements is no longer with them. Everything regarding the venue changed.
The florist agreed to return the deposit and sent us a check. However, when they found out that we had used another florist (we located the original designer)for the new date and venue, they stopped payment on the check.
What is my legal obligation to a florist which was to provide flowers on that date?
Was the "Force Majeure" clause SPECIFICALLY INCLUDED in the contract?Moops said:The contract was with the florist, not the individual. However, they still have the name of the designer on their website as the contact person and if you submit an order for flowers on the website, a message says that your order has been submitted to that designer, although he is no longer affiliated with them.
I asked them several times for a new contract with the new date and venues. I never received one. Why wouldn't the contract be nullified due to Force Majeure?
Why must I continue to use that florist after the contract date had passed? The church and the reception site all changed. It was like starting over.
Sorry Badapple...I guess we are viewing this from two different positions/opinions. I understood it to be more of the "florist" would have been willing to "provide the services contracted for", but the OP chose to go a different route.badapple40 said:shelly:
what the heck are you talking about? The original date was September of 2005. The florist breached the contract (albeit with an excuse) and did not deliver. They had a deposit. That deposit should have been returned.
But the florist was unhappy when they learned that a new date for the wedding had been scheduled and the person did not go with them and so put a stop payment on the check they had sent.
To the original poster:
Sue them for breach of contract, for restitution damages (return of the deposit). You'll win.
So again....what did the contract say about termination and/or return of deposit.Moops said:The florist would have been willing to do the wedding in the new venue. However, they never responded to my repeated requests for a new contract. I wanted to protect myself. The bride lived in NYC and it was not convenient to start over with a new designer. We originally chose the florist because of that designer. To have to accept an unknown would have been unacceptable. I just wondered, since they were closed at the time of the originally planned wedding, if I was obligated to use them, or if I would automatically be released from the contract.
It sounds like it to me too.It still sounds to me like you CHOSE to go in a different direction
Moops said:The florist would have been willing to do the wedding in the new venue. However, they never responded to my repeated requests for a new contract. I wanted to protect myself. The bride lived in NYC and it was not convenient to start over with a new designer. We originally chose the florist because of that designer. To have to accept an unknown would have been unacceptable. I just wondered, since they were closed at the time of the originally planned wedding, if I was obligated to use them, or if I would automatically be released from the contract.