LEgal Advice on International (UK/US) Contract

[miklink76]

I live in UK and signed a contract for services with a US based companyoffering surrogacy advice and support, 1 ago. We signed a contract one year ago and I paid a deposit of USD 5,000. The contract clearly stated that if the company did not find a surrogate within 12 months from the date of the contract they would reimburse us the entire deposit. Now 15 months have passed and they are ignoring my request of refund. What can I do legally to get my money back?

 

[Zigner]

I live in UK and signed a contract for services with a US based companyoffering surrogacy advice and support, 1 ago. We signed a contract one year ago and I paid a deposit of USD 5,000. The contract clearly stated that if the company did not find a surrogate within 12 months from the date of the contract they would reimburse us the entire deposit. Now 15 months have passed and they are ignoring my request of refund. What can I do legally to get my money back?

What US state is the company based in?
What does your contract state about dispute resolution?

EDIT: Were the services supposed to take place entirely within your home country?

 

[quincy]

I live in UK and signed a contract for services with a US based companyoffering surrogacy advice and support, 1 ago. We signed a contract one year ago and I paid a deposit of USD 5,000. The contract clearly stated that if the company did not find a surrogate within 12 months from the date of the contract they would reimburse us the entire deposit. Now 15 months have passed and they are ignoring my request of refund. What can I do legally to get my money back?

Does the U.S. based company have offices in the U.K?

You can have the contract personally reviewed by an attorney in your area. One who is familiar with international claims could be helpful.

 

[miklink76]

The comapny is a surrogacy agency based in Florida. They do not have any offices outside Florida, but they use surrogates in Canada, so I woudl say that part of their operation and of the services they shoud have provided to me would be in Canada. The clause in the contract is very clear about reimbursement and could not be open to interpretation; however there is no mention of resolution of disputes. As we are only talking about USD 5,000 I am not too willing to start international legal action paying solicitors' feees that could easily surpass the amount due back to us; so I am looking whether I am able to use the small claim court even if I am not a USA resident.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What can I do legally to get my money back?

In general I think the answer would be that you need to file a claim with the appropriate court or pursue arbitration, depending on what your contract says. The details of the contract matter and it matters which country's law applies. Does the contract specify which country's law applies and/or the forum in which any dispute would be resolved? Does it, for example, require arbitration or specify a particular jurisdiction that any lawsuit must be filed in? Does the contract specify a particular procedure for refunds? Have you made a written request for the refund?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Does the country specify which country's law applies and/or the forum in which any dispute would be resolved?

I think you mean, "Does the contract specify which country's law applies..."

 

[miklink76]

The below is what it says about governing law
"In the event that any portion of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the remaining
sections of this Agreement shall retain full force. CLIENT understand that this Agreement shall be
governed by the laws of Florida irrespective of any rules regarding conflicts of laws, and both
parties agree that any litigation regarding the relationship between CLIENT and xxx shall be filed
in Collier County, Florida. In the event it is necessary to retain an attorney to enforce this
agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to have their attorney’s fees reimbursed. This
document may be entered into in various counterparts, any of which shall be considered an
original and may be enforced against the signer."

 

[Taxing Matters]

The comapny is a surrogacy agency based in Florida...As we are only talking about USD 5,000 I am not too willing to start international legal action paying solicitors' feees that could easily surpass the amount due back to us; so I am looking whether I am able to use the small claim court even if I am not a USA resident.

You may sue the company in Florida small claims court if you want, assuming there is no requirement in your contract to arbitrate the dispute. The limit for small claims in Florida is $8,000, so this would easily fit within the court's jurisdiction. However, you'd need to come to Florida to present your case and your travel expenses to do so do not get added to any judgment you'd win.

ETA: I see you now have posted the governing law portion of the contract. It does not require arbitration but does require litigation in Collier County Florida. So that's where your small claims case must be filed. Since the contract does allow attorney's fees to be added to your judgment if you win you could hire a Florida attorney to handle most of this for you, though even then you may still need to come out to testify to make your case, and as I noted above, the travel costs don't get added to the judgment.

 

[quincy]

The comapny is a surrogacy agency based in Florida. They do not have any offices outside Florida, but they use surrogates in Canada, so I woudl say that part of their operation and of the services they shoud have provided to me would be in Canada. The clause in the contract is very clear about reimbursement and could not be open to interpretation; however there is no mention of resolution of disputes. As we are only talking about USD 5,000 I am not too willing to start international legal action paying solicitors' feees that could easily surpass the amount due back to us; so I am looking whether I am able to use the small claim court even if I am not a USA resident.

If the company has no agency or agent in the U.K., you probably will need to sue to recover the $5000 in Florida. It could cost you more than $5000 to pursue a legal action, however.

Again you should have the contract personally reviewed, in its entirety, by an attorney in your area. We cannot do contract reviews or analyses of contract terms on this forum. Sorry.

Good luck.

 

[miklink76]

This is what states about reimbursement (as I said it is a contract about surrogacy support)

NB xxx replaces the name of the company

"xxx will refund 50% ($2,500 USD) of the $5000.00 USD retainer deposit if xxx has not matched
CLIENT with a Gestational Carrier after 6 months (181 days) of signing this agreement for clients
who have enough viable embryos in storage to undergo three separate embryo transfers; xxx will
offer to refund the balance of the retainer ($2500.00 USD) if xxx has not matched CLIENT after one
year of signing this agreement and paying the retainer fee of signing this agreement for clients who
have enough viable embryos in storage to undergo three separate embryo transfers should CLIENT
choose to terminate this agreement and NOT remain on xxx’s waiting list"

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Then you are going to need to find a lawyer that can practice in Collier County, Florida which is the count Naples is located.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I think you mean, "Does the contract specify which country's law applies..."

Correct. I've made that change. Thanks.

 

[quincy]

This is what states about reimbursement (as I said it is a contract about surrogacy support)

NB xxx replaces the name of the company

"xxx will refund 50% ($2,500 USD) of the $5000.00 USD retainer deposit if xxx has not matched
CLIENT with a Gestational Carrier after 6 months (181 days) of signing this agreement for clients
who have enough viable embryos in storage to undergo three separate embryo transfers; xxx will
offer to refund the balance of the retainer ($2500.00 USD) if xxx has not matched CLIENT after one
year of signing this agreement and paying the retainer fee of signing this agreement for clients who
have enough viable embryos in storage to undergo three separate embryo transfers should CLIENT
choose to terminate this agreement and NOT remain on xxx’s waiting list"

You should find an attorney in your area (or in Florida) to personally review the contract in its entirety. Contract review falls outside the scope of this forum.

 

[Taxing Matters]

...should CLIENT choose to terminate this agreement and NOT remain on xxx’s waiting list"

One other thought. Did you notify the company in writing that you are terminating the agreement and will not remain on the waiting list?

 

[quincy]

Collier County Small Claims:
https://smallclaimscourthouse.com/florida/collier-county/