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Legal Recourse for not receiving photos?
Just seeing if there is anything that can be done. Paid a photographer and shoot with him over a month ago, for this particular style/shoot that I wanted. It's been over a month and no edits and no proofs(just contact sheets), and he keeps blowing me off when I ask for edits. "Tomorrow, tomorrow" Is there any legal recourse that can be done if neither one of us signed a contract? There's just e-mails and texts. Sep 28 14 08:39 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Davidson Co. small claims court. You can file a case for a fee. Sep 28 14 08:42 pm Link On that note....would it matter if the photographer was not based in my county, let alone my state? They are based out of Atlanta.' Still file it in my county? Without a contract, would I even have a case? Sep 28 14 08:44 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: OP..you bring up an interesting few questions and here at Lawyer Mayhem no one is qualified. Consult an Attorney in your local hood! Sep 28 14 08:46 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Isn't Atlanta in your country? Sep 28 14 08:51 pm Link Images by MR wrote: County Sep 28 14 08:52 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Where did you shoot? Sep 28 14 08:58 pm Link Images by MR wrote: County no 'r' is where most of our public legal system resides. Each state is divided into multiple counties. Cities may cross county lines, so they generally don't have their own system. We have mostly state laws, but most of the enforcement/litigation is at the county level. Many problems are decided/based on state law, but heard at the county courthouse. Sep 28 14 08:58 pm Link I understand...an attorney would be my best bet...It just wouldn't be financially feasible to hire an attorney at an hourly rate probably at the same rate I'm suing the photographer for. It was shot in Atlanta. I figured with all these numerous photographers and models...there has to be a situation similar to mine.. Sep 28 14 09:07 pm Link Small claims court might not be worth your time & money. Give him another month without asking until the end. See if he comes through without pressure. Sep 28 14 09:07 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Atty. consult for 15 minutes is often free. Sep 28 14 09:13 pm Link Cherrystone wrote: I frequent Atlanta monthly...it would be nothing to drop it off at their magistrate... Sep 28 14 09:15 pm Link I know people will jump at me for this but ... Have you not gone to his business to talk to him in person? Also next time pay when you get the product not before Sep 28 14 09:15 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Well, maybe. Sep 28 14 09:21 pm Link Amber Dawn - Colorado wrote: Talking is always a good thing. Sep 28 14 09:23 pm Link Sep 28 14 10:11 pm Link DOUGLASFOTOS wrote: Oops my bad Sep 28 14 11:23 pm Link Amber Dawn - Colorado wrote: Good luck finding a reputable working pro. Sep 28 14 11:53 pm Link MAE WEST SAID, "TELL HIM I A NICE WAY," "AND IF THAT DON'T WORK, BEAT HIM UP." AND WHAT DO I DO ABOUT ALL THE (MALE) MODELS WHO ROB ME? TAKE CLOTHES, TWO STOLE MONEY. 4 OUT OF 5 MODELS STEAL CLOTHES (I PROVIDE WARDROBE). THE LAST ONE STOLE A LEATHER JACKET. WHAT CAN I DO? NOTHING. FORGIVE AND FORGET. KARMA PUNISHES ALL OF US. Sep 29 14 12:02 am Link What do you want? You don't just sue someone because they didn't give you what you want. You sue to get something. Your only legal recourse in a civil matter such as this is to recover the funds you paid if you can prove the purchased service was not provided. Is that what you want? The court is not going to compel him to turn over pictures to you. If you sue, the pictures and any semblance of a relationship you might have had with this photographer will be gone. If he did not provide what the two of you agreed, have you considered asking for your money back? That should light a fire under his ass/anger him. We can often become very attached to what we'd hoped to get out of a photo shoot. When that doesn't happen, for whatever reason, the best course of action is typically to go get what we wanted from somewhere else and not dwell. Sep 29 14 12:14 am Link dtlaloftstudio wrote: I would want the funds. Photos can be reshot. The half a grand i invested in this shoot is something i think any one would ' dwell ' over. .. Sep 29 14 06:12 am Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Do you know what contact sheets and proofs have in common, or what the purpose of each is? Sep 29 14 06:18 am Link Contact sheets ARE proofs. I would tell him that you'd like your money back due to non-delivery of purchased product and if you don't get it with x days you will take him to court. I wouldn't bother asking where the photos are anymore. Just move it to a monetary transaction in which you paid for a product but didn't get the purchased item within a reasonable amount of time. Sep 29 14 06:24 am Link When did he agree to give you photos by? Since you paid him I hope this was spelled out clearly when booking the shoot. If he does not give you photos by the agreed upon time I would ask for a refund. Sep 29 14 06:25 am Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: If & when you file in small claims, present a record of the written communique as your evidence. Also since money actually exchanged hands, if you kept a receipt of the transaction, that would greatly help your side. Sep 29 14 06:30 am Link One important thing I did not see you mention, is when you paid the cash to this photographer, did he give you a receipt? No receipt, then you might as well not waste your money going to court, because all the photographer needs to say is, "No, she didn't pay me". Been through it on a different matter, but still the same..."No receipt of service, No case" Maybe this photographer guy is just really slow at sending photos to people. Or maybe he has to send the photos away to get retouched because he can't do it himself. Maybe he has a massive work load and hasn't gotten around to yours yet. Maybe he is just a really crappy photographer and all his shots came out terrible and he is to embarrassed to tell you, because he feels like a douche. Who know? Your best bet is to keep contacting him and politely mention that if he does not respond you will have no option but to take him to court. Maybe he will answer you if you nicely threaten him, but never lose control and verbally abuse him otherwise he will go on the defensive and you will never see anything. Keep contacting him, be nice and hopefully if he is a decent human being you will eventually see you images. Unless he's an a$$hole, then you probably won't.  Sep 29 14 06:31 am Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Well, like most of us here, I ain't no stinkin' scum-sucking lawyer, and you should never take free legal advice from strangers on the Internet. That being said, here are some random thoughts: Sep 29 14 07:46 am Link a month can go by quickly if someone has a day job and/or family stuff (like summer vacation) going on. i wouldn't give up just yet. Sep 29 14 07:49 am Link You will do fine in small claims court. $500 is too much to chalk up to experience. This amount is tantamount to theft. I am not offering anything here that you cannot find out on your own... First...you had a binding contract, even though it may have been verbal. You paid, they did not deliver. Breech of contract happens all the time. There are always two sides to a story, and the judge decides who is telling the truth based on the evidence. Your sworn testimony is acceptable evidence. A paper trail is even better...but not always necessary to prevail. The more credible your claim...the greater the chance of prevailing. Before you go to court, the judge will want to see you made a last ditch effort to resolve matters. You need to contact the photographer and get a date certain when he is going to deliver, or else you want a full refund of your $500. Do not "threaten" a lawsuit...at all. Only when he fails in this last attempt do you want to tell him, in writing, he has left you with no other recourse than to let a judge decide the matter. This notice will be evidence you take to court, and makes you appear to be a reasonable person. You will also gain credibility this way. You will have to file in the county where the photographer conducted the business. Court costs are recoverable. Travel expenses may also be allowed, and any direct related costs. Punitive damages are not allowed...nor actual damages like loss of opportunity, etc. Any claim of slander will kick the case into the level that hears rapes, murders, etc. You will need to know the court rules at this level...so just stick to the basic contract breech at the small claims level and the judge will do the rest. Courts cannot make a person perform. They can only issue a monetary judgement. They cannot collect for you either. And this is something if you have never done, you don't want to try to do it yourself. But there are books that will tell you how you can do it yourself. You can also "sell" your judgment to some collection companies, or assign it to others for a percent of the collected amount. You can also "attach" the photographer's assets if he has anything of value over his tools of the trade and other exempted items. Any unpaid judgment on his credit record will almost certainly bar him from getting any kind of credit. Personally, I would not be concerned what he might tell others about you if it comes to getting legal. If anything, he will likely want to keep things quiet. It is not good PR for him that he has to be sued in order to get results. Good luck. Sep 29 14 09:05 am Link Just a note to everyone telling you to file in small claims court, in most situations, small claims cannot be used to file against someone in a different state. In other words, you can't serve someone in George for small claims and force them to appear in a Tennessee court. In a regular case, you probably can, but with small claims you may not. You will have to look at the specific rules of your court to find out. Before putting any energy into filing an action in small claims court, I would be sure that your court will even have jurisdiction. You have, however, said that you travel to GA regularly. If you wanted to file a small claim there, you would be able to. Sep 29 14 09:08 am Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: 1. You do not need an attorney. Sep 29 14 09:34 am Link Here is my advice. Politely email him asking for your money back as he has not completed his end of the agreement. If he doesnt, hire a lawyer to write a really nasty demand letter on his/her letterhead. Might run your 50 or 75, shop around. And also file a formal complaint with the BBB in his hometown city. Its free, and no respectable photog. wants the bad publicity that comes with it. Hope this helps! Sep 29 14 09:51 am Link Images by MR wrote: Lol I read it wrong too! Sep 29 14 10:06 am Link Emails are sufficient to prove a verbal agreement. You can file an action in small claims, to either get your images, or your money, but you have to file the action where the photographer is. You will have a monetary fee to file. You can hire legal counsel, or represent yourself. There are never any easy solutions for people who don't keep their end of the bargain. Sep 29 14 11:50 am Link Lallure Photographic wrote: This not nitpicking. I do want to clarify something. A "Verbal" agreement is one that is memorialized using words. It can be oral or written. An oral agreement is one that has been spoken. Sep 29 14 11:56 am Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: While outing is not allowed on MM, I would love to know, via PM, who the photographer is. I've had two models, with whom I've worked, tell me the same about an Atlanta Photographer. Sep 29 14 12:10 pm Link I'd suggest you check into small claims court in Atlanta - I don't know how things are set up in Georgia, but it's worth checking if you go there frequently. I hope you have a record of payment, as well as copies of communication between you and the photographer. As others pointed out, even if you get a judgement it's still up to you to collect. If it's enough money, however, you might be able to hand it off to a collection agency. That will at least create some misery for the photographer, and they might even get a few bucks for you. Sep 29 14 12:31 pm Link Thanks for all the sound advice. Especially about the demand letter form an attorney. I will definitely do this! To answer a few questions for curious minds..(PM sent about who it was) He originally gave me a date of the 15th, then he gave an excuse, then said the 25th. Nothing. Won't respond to texts and he blocked me from instagram. Keep in mind, we are only talking about 6 edits. Regarding money, half was paid via paypal. The other half was pulled out via ATM the same day of the shoot. I also paid for for a bodypaint artist for one of the looks via paypal. Obviously this was for the shoot and edits that I never received. Figured I would be able to tack that on to the amount that I sue him for, as the bodypainter did what he was supposed to do.  To bring some levity to the situation, I'm pretty sure one of the COURT tv shows would be interested in this case, if anything. But at this amount of money(photographer & bodypaint)...I'm not done yet... Sep 29 14 07:29 pm Link This is so horrible! Sep 29 14 08:13 pm Link Ms Katie Blair wrote: Did you pay him anything yet? Sep 30 14 08:28 am Link |
