Baby Shower canceled due to covid but venue will not refund the deposit.
The deposit was made but the venue will not refund. The contract does have a sections stating no refunds on deposits. I get why they would have that as it would me not refunds due to cancelations or whatever but in this case they just took 500 dollars and did nothing for it. I didn't cancel. They are closed due to covid 19. Do I have a case in small claims court? This is in NJ.
Posted Apr 4, 2020, 12:13 AM UTC
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Are they offering to reschedule? I realize a baby shower is pretty dependent on timing but you can still have a gathering when this is all over.
They are. But like you said it's a baby shower they're not interested in having it after the baby is born.
The argument on our end is the deposit was for this time and date and they are not able to accommodate as agreed.
Here's the rub. In something like a pandemic a court is going to expect the parties to act reasonably and maybe be willing to give in a little more than they would normally have to. if you sue to get your deposit back, and they can show they were happy to let you reschedule, a court may rule you were being unreasonable and they win. There is no way to know if that would happen. You wouldn't be the first person to have a party for a baby after the baby was born. You can still get gifts before the baby is born, and you will surely need stuff after the baby is born you didn't even know you needed.
If the venue is offering to reschedule after they reopen, that is all they need to do. Whoever put down the deposit can use the venue for another event.
Yeah I get that. It's also weird because they're saying they can't refund because they can't afford to. They are saying That they don't know if they'll be able to reopen at all but also offering to reschedule..
IANAL but unless there’s a contract that states the deposit is refundable due to closures from government restrictions you most likely won’t get it back