After using other clunky interfaces (isn’t that a technical word? I am probably misusing it), I have finally decided to create a real blog to communicate with current and former students. I actually know how to do this, because I have a non-work blog about feeding my kids. The purpose of this blog is to create an online forum for discussion about current events related to the law and ethics. Here are a few ground rules:
- Current students get course participation for commenting here.
- Former students may also comment, but I can’t give you credit anymore. It is, however, not a bad way to keep in touch, especially for when you ask me for the inevitable letter of recommendation. By the way, here are a few newly recorded suggestions about letters of recommendation that may come in handy for former students.
- You may debate the issues, but please keep it clean and respectful. Don’t write anything you wouldn’t say to someone’s face, with your professor watching. Please make an attempt to proofread. It can be really hard to give course credit for online comments that are full of typos.
As for current events, there can be no better place to start than with the breach of contract lawsuit brought by a Groomzilla in New York. For those of you that haven’t heard about this case yet, here is the background: A Groomzilla is a groom (as in a man getting married) that loses his mind, basically. Here, the Groomzilla not only lost his mind, he has the poor fortune to be the son of a partner in a big law firm. (I happen to have worked at this big law firm for a long time, but that is unrelated to the story.) So when the Groom was unsatisfied with the photographer at his wedding, he was able to utilize his father’s skills to bring a lawsuit.
As I have already discussed with my former students, the lawsuit is really about what constitute substantial performance of a contract. This is a key concept in contract law that we will cover in class. When we get to it, you may want to come back and comment on this story again. In the meantime, check out what has happened recently; Groomzilla has spoken, and has a website. Has he been unfairly punished by the media? Or is this just a frivolous lawsuit? Are we being sexist by mocking a groom with these concerns, when we would accept a bride being devastated over wedding photos? And where in the world is Milena Grzibovska?
And you thought the law was boring.
4 Comments
Yuchen Qin posted on January 12, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Interesting Case… From my perspective of this case, suing after 6 years seems not standing on a solid ground.
1. The wedding itself (the substance that the couple are legally bound together) is more meaningful that the form (pictures or videos shot by the photographer).
2. restoring fee of the event is too large (a lot more than cost of the photography). It is not reasonable to recreate the wedding.
3. Now that the couple is divorced, there is no point wedding again…
Therefore, the compensation the Mr. Remis is unfair. However we need to look into the contract more in detail to if the missing part of photography is a breach of contract.
Plus, I’m stilling wondering why he didn’t sue earlier… Is Mr. Remis lying somewhere?
Alexandria Chong posted on January 20, 2012 at 11:01 am
Not commenting on any case law or ethics at the moment, will in the future, I have been reading this blog, but I just wanted to say that your other blog “Feed Your Kids” is also a great read. It’s really funny.
Sarah Hu posted on January 27, 2012 at 2:30 pm
I agree with the potentiality of there being a breech of contract. Although it is only 15 minutes of time, the entire ceremony is 6 hours, so 1/24 of the proceedings are missing. The last dance and bouquet toss can perhaps be perceived as being equally important as walking the aisle and saying vows.
Assuming that the photographer was paid to record the entire wedding, really left 45 minutes before the end, took nasty pictures in front of a mirror, and acted rudely, not delivering the promised final product, Groomzilla might be justified being disgruntled. From reading the documents on his website, it does seem H&H did not deliver.
But perhaps court is not where we would’ve liked to see this issue resolved. Unfortunately I cannot think of another means to achieve this, which may say something about our society. Where should this matter be resolved, if these court fees and procedure seem to dwarf the original dispute? Or should it never have arisen, if both parties were clear in the expectations and what would be delivered?
Brooks Kirchen posted on December 5, 2013 at 2:40 pm
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