Re: response to a gig cancellation?

[Joe Kurland <ganeydn...>]

At 6:22 AM -0400 5/20/02, Bob Wiener wrote:
>Theory: Under Anglo-American common law the grounds for one party walking
>away from a valid, enforceable contract are quite limited.  The musicians
>hired for a wedding reception may not have recourse if the couple decides
>not to marry, unless there is a specific agreement concerning that
>situation.  (Do any list members have such a clause in their contracts?)
>

Here are the relevant clauses in our contracts:

The Wholesale Klezmer Band shall receive # (25%) non-refundable 
deposit for this event, to be applied towards the total fee.

The sponsor(s) agree to pay fifty percent of the music fees, as 
stated above, if this agreement is canceled less than # days prior to 
the scheduled date of the event unless the cancellation is the result 
of serious accident, natural disaster, or other circumstances beyond 
the sponsor's control.  The Wholesale Klezmer Band agrees not to 
cancel other than in the event of serious illness, accident, natural 
disaster, or other circumstances beyond their control.  In the event 
of such an occurance, the band will reschedule at the earliest 
mutually convenient date, or return all deposits at the sponsor's 
request.

In practice, when a couple called off their wedding, we said, if you 
reschedule your wedding within a year, we will allow you to apply the 
deposit to a new date, and they did.  Another couple called off their 
wedding permanently, understanding that we would keep the deposit, 
and I offered the groom a discount when he finally found another 
bride.  When people understand that the deposit binds the band not to 
accept other work for the day they have reserved, they are very 
understanding about letting you keep it. We've never had a 
cancellation on short notice, and I wouldn't expect to be able to 
collect money over the deposit unless the customer were very 
mentshlekh.  I once got intimidated into giving back a deposit for a 
couple that never gave an explanation about why they canceled, but 
that was before (and the reason that) I added the words 
non-refundable to the contract.

>At 5:19 AM +0000 5/20/02, Robert Cohen wrote:
>>Just to check, guys:  Do I have any legal recourse--I imagine I 
>>don't--to a Jewish organization's cancelling a (lecture--but I 
>>can't imagine it matters) gig because the private organization for 
>>whom it was, apparently by informal arrangement, scheduling 
>>lecturers decided, after a change in management, that it didn't 
>>care that much about lectures and didn't want to pay lecturers' 
>>fees?  (The Jewish organization--had a written agreement with me.)
>>
>>Would appreciate, obviously, any thoughts or successful experience.
>>
>>It's unethical, I think, on both their parts--but I don't know that 
>>I have any legal recourse (other than to a bet din ...?).
>>


Robert, I do like the idea of a bet din.

The problem here, though, is that you've got an organization that 
booked you for another organization which canceled.  You were under 
contract with the first organization which got stiffed by the second 
organization.  They made the mistake of not having a written contract 
with the second organization.  They couldn't enforce their agreement 
and collect a cancellation fee, and they passed their failure on to 
you.  You may want to, or have to, settle for an acknowledgement that 
they made a mistake and a promise to do better by you in the future.


Zayt gezunt (be healthy),

Yosl (Joe) Kurland
The Wholesale Klezmer Band
Colrain, MA 01340
voice/fax: 413-624-3204
http://www.WholesaleKlezmer.com

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