WHEN A WEDDING PRO GOES ON JUDGE JUDY.
What Judge Judy can teach us about contracts.
An Intro
My law school contracts professor loved Judge Judy. When asked why, he'd say because she always gets it right. And Dean Dessent knew his stuff. He even wrote our contracts textbook. My grandpa also loved Judge Judy. He'd say "now don't go on there and bullshit that lady. She'll see right through you."
I think grandpa loved Judge Judy because he related to her. I wasn't as obsessed with the Enneagram when grandpa was alive like I am now, but I have a very strong feeling he'd be a type 8, the challenger. You don't go around and disrespect type 8s.
Now Judge Judy doesn't need much more praise to earn my trust, but the cherry on top is how much she's loved by RuPaul. If that's not enough to get you onboard with this blog post, then I just don't know what to tell ya.
The Case
In this clip - watch it below - a client brought suit against a wedding videographer for $1,800 after paying the videographer $250. Take a look and see what you think.
Now, don't worry. Judge Judy isn't going to leave us hanging. There is a verdict. Check it out
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The Verdict
What are your thoughts? Were you surprised by the outcome? Was it what you expected?
I knew from the jump that Judge Judy wasn't going to award any money back.
Breach of Contract
Generally, in a breach of contract case, you must prove that the other party actually breached the contract. This is obvious step number 1. For this, we look at what was promised of the parties.
Typically one party is promising payment while the other promises services and/or a deliverable of some kind, in this case an edited video.
Judge Judy was crystal clear. The videographer performed under the contract. They got the edited video.
This leaves the question: Can a client sue and win for breach of contract if they got a video that was subpar. Answer: Yes.
But it's not all that easy. The plaintiff would likely need to prove that the defendant's work product was so poor that it didn't align with the quality of work expected. For example, had this videographer ripped off high quality videos to fraudulently show as samples of work, and the client relied on those samples, the client could likely win a breach of contract claim (and a fraud claim).
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Our Takeaways
1. Pricing
Pricing is relative. Price according to the value you can actually provide. This will weigh in your favor if you ever have a legal dispute. And don't sweat it if you're a beginner. Charge accordingly - but make sure you're operating at a profit - and raise your rates as your skill improves.
2. Show Samples
You should have sample on your website. We all get that, but actually have your clients sign off that they've seen your work. Address this in your contract. You should have a term for the client to acknowledge that they have viewed your work. In this provision, you should agree to produce work of like quality. This could also protect you if, for example, you are a natural light photographer, and you show up on the wedding day to unexpectedly find you will be in a dark ballroom all day. That was an actual issue I saw in a Facebook Group recently.
And if you need this term, I, of course, have it in the Contract Club.
3. You Run a Business. Charge Like It.
Charge more than $250. It's hard to speculate at what point Judge Judy would have said, "yes you overpaid for what you got," but I'd guess at least over $1,000 or $2,000. You can't run a business and charge $250 per client for this type of work. You have taxes to pay, expenses to cover, and potentially courses to take if you need to improve your craft, which leads me to...
4. Get Better
Do your due diligence to improve your craft. I think we all take pride in our work, so you probably don't need this reminder, but find ways to constantly improve. Find a mentor, take classes, and continue to get better. Your clients and your bank account will thank you.
5. Have a Contract
This is our last and most obvious tip. Have a contract for every client. If you need help, I've got you covered with the Contract Club.
I WROTE A WHOLE-ASS BOOK, AND
I never thought people would be jazzed about reading a book on law in tax, but the reviews are in! And most read something like "I read this whole book, and I didn't hate it, and now I know stuff.
But for real, it walks you through my full "Unf*ck Your Biz Framework" - something I created for my first course, which was $2,000 and saw over 70 graduates - and is like the A to Z guide to get you started.
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“I never thought I would say I enjoyed reading a book on taxes, but I definitely did. Braden’s wit and spunk made this, often times, traumatic topic of taxes, actually really fun and enjoyable. He put into perspective the proper ways of filing your taxes, as well as covering if you should become an LLC, S Corp or sole proprietor, for small business owners. It was jam packed with knowledge and key tips that I have already put into effect in my own business! I’m so thankful that Braden has decided to share his knowledge and help us small business owners. Highly, highly recommend reading this book and getting your legal stuff figured out!”
- Kelsey, Owner of Kelsey Rae Designs
