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by Anonymous on November 14th, 2009

Anonymous

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Can I sue a person on basis of an oral agreement to do 3 family portraits. I was given photos to work from and did the works. She confirmed her intention to purchase but has, since,blocked communications and good faith effort to pay for the works.

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Answers. 6 helpful answers below.

  • by Anonymous on November 26th, 2009

    Anonymous

    A. She claimed to have married my nephew recently.
    So, I allowed skipped contract out of family respect

    B. She promised to pay in November, as soon as she collected over $200'000 legal award against WalMart
    This came through

    C. Her last message was that she wanted the art. she made an appointment with me to pay and receive the works. I have a long rep as a professional artist; degrees, awards, etc. Will this help in court in supporting the price I charged?

    D. I still have her photos she gave to do work from

    E. She became unreachable by phone and will not return my calls

    F. The last report said she had run off on vacation in Florida WITH my nephew

    G. My nephew promised to get her to pay, but he has disappeared and will not answer calls, either.

    Is this is good case against her in small claims and can I collect interest, if it is?

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  • by john pennington on November 26th, 2009

    john pennington

    I hope you have learned a lesson from this arrangement.

    Oral contracts are only good in court, if its witnessed by a third party.

    Next, time get it in writing......family or not.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Jewel on November 23rd, 2009

    Jewel

    You can, and it shouldn't be too difficult. If she has the paintings, you have the photo models, and she has no proof of payment (a receipt) then it can be safely assumed she owes you for the work.
    If you have proof of what others have paid for your work, then a price can be decided from that, so get proof of your best prices!
    Small claims court in your area might be the best way to go if the amount owed is within the amount handled by that court, but it is possible to sue in higher court as well. It will just cost you more.
    You might also get an attorney to write a letter on their letterhead, stating that she will be sued for payment if the total due isn't paid immediately. It works. I did that once or twice.
    Next time, get it in writing and make and keep reciepts. Also, get at least 50% up front. It will garantee that you don't get stiffed for the entire amount and it pretty much insures that the client is serious about the purchse.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by ConservativelyLiberal on November 14th, 2009

    ConservativelyLiberal

    Depends on your local laws. In CA an oral contract is valid up to a set dollar amount. anything over $500(I think) is invalid on it's face.

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  • by qwerty on November 14th, 2009

    qwerty

    you can sue anyone you want for any reason
    it is doubtful however that you would win with just an oral agreement.
    Civil court proof is by perponderance of the evidence
    IE it is more likely than not that it happened as opposed to criminal court where proof must be beyond ANY reasonbal doubt.
    If you think you can prove to the first, then you have a case

    2 comments | Post one | Permalink

  • by OZe on November 14th, 2009

    OZe

    Yes. It will be a matter of who the judge or jury believes because she will mostly likely deny everything.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

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