We won in court!
17/04/24 11:58
We took a breach of contract case to court and won.
We won in Court!
In 2021, I completed a Degree conversion in Law. Although I decided to stick with music and not pursue the Law career I thought I wanted to move to, I’ll always maintain it was the best thing I ever did - and I recommend that everyone does. Understanding the laws the govern our conduct and our lives is so quintessential to understanding what happens around us and, specifically, how people we interact with will try and ‘get one over’ on us at every turn. And in music - this happens ALL. THE. TIME.
Since I completed my degree, I’ve successfully argued a 30% price reduction from a dodgy tradesperson, prevented my wife from being taken advantage of by her employer at the beginning of lockdown, and helped freelance friends and colleagues understand contracts which has helped them not be taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers. It’s worth its weight in gold.
All of the above examples didn’t find their way to court of course. I’m not qualified to work officially (yet!) and any discussions I’ve had with people have only been general discussion about general principles, and always made clear that I’m not creating a duty of care towards anyone, and that anything I say should be run by a qualified Solicitor. Although I intend on sticking with music for as long as my businesses continue to grow, I still feel a strong pull into qualifying. I get a lot out of helping people and this is a unique way that I can.
But I had the opportunity to test the general principles of contract law in court when my colleague had a gig cancelled with only a few days notice, and we were keen to test the theories and principles that I’d studied ( and did well in ) for the purposes of being able to produce this blog and give other musicians some understanding on how to be properly recompensed when contracts are breached - usually by venues, promotors or agents, but it does also apply to those scuMMy assholes who run show and don’t pay their musicians for work done. I also hope that it’ll give confidence that the process works if you let it.
I recently wrote a complete blog on Contracts - you should refer to that if you’re interested in this subject. Success in a Court of Law isn’t automatic - you need to prepared yourselves and the only way to do that is by understanding it from the beginning.
But here’s our most recent experience with taking a venue to court for cancelling a gig unilaterally, and then refusing to pay the fee.
This, as you will pick up if you read the other blog in its entirety, is breach of contract, and this is what we sued under.
(I say “we”, I was not the claimant - I went along for moral support and to see the process unfold.)
Here’s the facts
A gig was booked orally between the act and the venue There was no written contract and no signature The booking was provable using WhatsApp messages All of the elements of a contract were evidenced in the WhatsApp exchanges. The failure to deliver a poster, discussed in the WhatsApp messages, was deemed to be a factor in the case There were no terms and conditions included in the Offer. The venue cancelled 3 days before the event
On all of these facts, the claimant won his challenge, resulting in Damages and Costs. This, ultimately, made the challenge FREE to make.
It’s worth noting that the defending party didn’t attend. Although they did enter a defence, which the Judge largely ignored because there were no defences in law being argued. Had they been at the hearing to make their argument in person, I’m confident that it would have failed.
The claimant showed that a contract existed, despite the lack of formal contract and a signature, which is ultimately what won the day, and this is important. When arguing a case in front of a Judge, there must be evidence. If you go into a court room without any evidence to argue your case on, it’ll be a waste of money. The Court can only act on evidence that can be applied to Law. It’s a Court of Law after all, not a Court of “fair” - and you have to realise that the person listening to you has never been present at any point of your situation. All they have to go on is what is presented to them.
The Judge examined the evidence in forensic detail, and questioned the claimant on a lot of his evidence. It was uncomfortable at times - a highly educated and distinguished individual was discussing emails and WhatsApp messages in the context of a business transaction between a venue and an act. And the venue’s language was very basic!! It didn’t feel like a discussion between two professional people, and that’s why it felt uncomfortable - especially as you’re arguing for a business contract. It felt amateur. And this is why I’ve ALWAYS insisted on discussing business by email, and my language is of a high quality and I advise it for everyone. If anyone else reads it, I want it to be read is if I am the professional person that I am, and I want it to be on a platform that’s considered a communication tool of a professional. Sorry - IM’s aren’t!! Convenient, yes. Professional, no.
There was a snag the case, though.
The claimant was booked for £450. But the Count only awarded £100 + costs.
Why was this, when the contract was booked for £450 with no further terms and conditions.
Now, the Court WOULD have awarded the full price of the contract amidst the breach…… had the claimant not offered a low cancellation fee of £100! This was evidenced by email, but what crystallised this is that the offer of £100 didn’t have any further terms attached to it - ie no consequences of what would happen if the £100 wasn’t paid.
This is crucial detail and a lesson to learn from.
To start with, by offering £100 as a cancellation fee, the claimant established that £100 is all that it would take to put the cancellation right, despite the contract price. Had the claimant stated that if the £100 hadn’t been paid within a time frame that the full amount would be due, the court would have awarded the full contract price in the event that the ‘cancellation fee’ wasn’t due.
Although there were no cancellation terms written into the offer, the Court upheld the cancelation offer. But this is where the claimant scuppered himself, and the Court recognised this.
By offering a lower amount, and not stating any consequence of increasing if not paid, the claimant suggested that it would only take £100 as an acceptable restitution. This is really the role of the Court - to put the claimant either back into the position that they would have been if the contract had been fulfilled, or to make things right by the claimant. But stating that £100 would put things right, this is all the Court felt that their power extended to to put things right.
Incidentally, the claimant did have an email that stated a consequence, but he didn’t enter it into evidence when he needed to and found it later after the Judgement had been rendered. Thus - too late!!
The lesson learned is a clear one, and the Judge stated it in no uncertain terms - to state your terms of business / terms and conditions, to define what would put you into a suitable position in the event of a cancellation and then stick to it.
We went though the process partially to seek restitution, but we mainly wanted to see the process so we could learn from it and then report back to other musicians who, it seems, really don’t know what their rights are in the event of a unilateral cancellation.
Musicians really should be holding clients who cancel to account, especially if your full time income is tied to performance. There are many many many venue, promotor, and band owner stories about cancellations leaving musicians out of pocket, and they aren’t chasing money that they’re due under our laws. Of course, there are times where this might not be favourable to your overall situation, or appropriate, and my main blog article discusses this.
I understand it’s time consuming, and the perception is that it’s expensive. But we’ve shown that the process is essentially FREE if you win!! And you’ll win if the facts are on your side, so you have to do your part and make sure there’s a suitable evidence trail to argue in front of the Court to demonstrate what and why you’re owed in the event of a breach of contract.
If you read my previous blog on contracts and understand what it teaches, in the event that your client either cancels early or doesn’t pay for work completed, you know what to do.
Finally, breach of contract claim can be brought within 6 years of the breach. The Limitation Act 1980, s5 provides :
In 2021, I completed a Degree conversion in Law. Although I decided to stick with music and not pursue the Law career I thought I wanted to move to, I’ll always maintain it was the best thing I ever did - and I recommend that everyone does. Understanding the laws the govern our conduct and our lives is so quintessential to understanding what happens around us and, specifically, how people we interact with will try and ‘get one over’ on us at every turn. And in music - this happens ALL. THE. TIME.
Since I completed my degree, I’ve successfully argued a 30% price reduction from a dodgy tradesperson, prevented my wife from being taken advantage of by her employer at the beginning of lockdown, and helped freelance friends and colleagues understand contracts which has helped them not be taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers. It’s worth its weight in gold.
All of the above examples didn’t find their way to court of course. I’m not qualified to work officially (yet!) and any discussions I’ve had with people have only been general discussion about general principles, and always made clear that I’m not creating a duty of care towards anyone, and that anything I say should be run by a qualified Solicitor. Although I intend on sticking with music for as long as my businesses continue to grow, I still feel a strong pull into qualifying. I get a lot out of helping people and this is a unique way that I can.
But I had the opportunity to test the general principles of contract law in court when my colleague had a gig cancelled with only a few days notice, and we were keen to test the theories and principles that I’d studied ( and did well in ) for the purposes of being able to produce this blog and give other musicians some understanding on how to be properly recompensed when contracts are breached - usually by venues, promotors or agents, but it does also apply to those scuMMy assholes who run show and don’t pay their musicians for work done. I also hope that it’ll give confidence that the process works if you let it.
I recently wrote a complete blog on Contracts - you should refer to that if you’re interested in this subject. Success in a Court of Law isn’t automatic - you need to prepared yourselves and the only way to do that is by understanding it from the beginning.
But here’s our most recent experience with taking a venue to court for cancelling a gig unilaterally, and then refusing to pay the fee.
This, as you will pick up if you read the other blog in its entirety, is breach of contract, and this is what we sued under.
(I say “we”, I was not the claimant - I went along for moral support and to see the process unfold.)
Here’s the facts
On all of these facts, the claimant won his challenge, resulting in Damages and Costs. This, ultimately, made the challenge FREE to make.
It’s worth noting that the defending party didn’t attend. Although they did enter a defence, which the Judge largely ignored because there were no defences in law being argued. Had they been at the hearing to make their argument in person, I’m confident that it would have failed.
The claimant showed that a contract existed, despite the lack of formal contract and a signature, which is ultimately what won the day, and this is important. When arguing a case in front of a Judge, there must be evidence. If you go into a court room without any evidence to argue your case on, it’ll be a waste of money. The Court can only act on evidence that can be applied to Law. It’s a Court of Law after all, not a Court of “fair” - and you have to realise that the person listening to you has never been present at any point of your situation. All they have to go on is what is presented to them.
The Judge examined the evidence in forensic detail, and questioned the claimant on a lot of his evidence. It was uncomfortable at times - a highly educated and distinguished individual was discussing emails and WhatsApp messages in the context of a business transaction between a venue and an act. And the venue’s language was very basic!! It didn’t feel like a discussion between two professional people, and that’s why it felt uncomfortable - especially as you’re arguing for a business contract. It felt amateur. And this is why I’ve ALWAYS insisted on discussing business by email, and my language is of a high quality and I advise it for everyone. If anyone else reads it, I want it to be read is if I am the professional person that I am, and I want it to be on a platform that’s considered a communication tool of a professional. Sorry - IM’s aren’t!! Convenient, yes. Professional, no.
There was a snag the case, though.
The claimant was booked for £450. But the Count only awarded £100 + costs.
Why was this, when the contract was booked for £450 with no further terms and conditions.
Now, the Court WOULD have awarded the full price of the contract amidst the breach…… had the claimant not offered a low cancellation fee of £100! This was evidenced by email, but what crystallised this is that the offer of £100 didn’t have any further terms attached to it - ie no consequences of what would happen if the £100 wasn’t paid.
This is crucial detail and a lesson to learn from.
To start with, by offering £100 as a cancellation fee, the claimant established that £100 is all that it would take to put the cancellation right, despite the contract price. Had the claimant stated that if the £100 hadn’t been paid within a time frame that the full amount would be due, the court would have awarded the full contract price in the event that the ‘cancellation fee’ wasn’t due.
Although there were no cancellation terms written into the offer, the Court upheld the cancelation offer. But this is where the claimant scuppered himself, and the Court recognised this.
By offering a lower amount, and not stating any consequence of increasing if not paid, the claimant suggested that it would only take £100 as an acceptable restitution. This is really the role of the Court - to put the claimant either back into the position that they would have been if the contract had been fulfilled, or to make things right by the claimant. But stating that £100 would put things right, this is all the Court felt that their power extended to to put things right.
Incidentally, the claimant did have an email that stated a consequence, but he didn’t enter it into evidence when he needed to and found it later after the Judgement had been rendered. Thus - too late!!
The lesson learned is a clear one, and the Judge stated it in no uncertain terms - to state your terms of business / terms and conditions, to define what would put you into a suitable position in the event of a cancellation and then stick to it.
We went though the process partially to seek restitution, but we mainly wanted to see the process so we could learn from it and then report back to other musicians who, it seems, really don’t know what their rights are in the event of a unilateral cancellation.
Musicians really should be holding clients who cancel to account, especially if your full time income is tied to performance. There are many many many venue, promotor, and band owner stories about cancellations leaving musicians out of pocket, and they aren’t chasing money that they’re due under our laws. Of course, there are times where this might not be favourable to your overall situation, or appropriate, and my main blog article discusses this.
I understand it’s time consuming, and the perception is that it’s expensive. But we’ve shown that the process is essentially FREE if you win!! And you’ll win if the facts are on your side, so you have to do your part and make sure there’s a suitable evidence trail to argue in front of the Court to demonstrate what and why you’re owed in the event of a breach of contract.
If you read my previous blog on contracts and understand what it teaches, in the event that your client either cancels early or doesn’t pay for work completed, you know what to do.
Finally, breach of contract claim can be brought within 6 years of the breach. The Limitation Act 1980, s5 provides :
Time limit for actions founded on simple contract.
An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.
So if you have a complete evidence trail for a contract that’ll allow you to prove a breach, and the breach occurred within the last 6 years, you may still be eligible to bring the claim.
I finish by reminding that non of this is formal legal advice, and it’s worth conferring with a qualified lawyer. Maybe even your MU lawyer. But if you understand the general principles enough to prepare yourself and get all of your evidence together, your lawyer will have a much easier time advising you of next steps.
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