What are my chances of getting my deposit back in small claims court?

Question

I struck a deal with someone to purchase X amount of units for X amount each. I gave 25% of sale price as deposit & the very next day I canceled the order as I found he was charging me a lot. He said I cancelled on time before he placed the order & agreed to return my deposit. 3 months later I am still trying to get my money back, he ignores my calls,ignores emails. So finally I filed with the small claims court. What are my chances of getting my money back & what chances do I have of loosing the case?I have the original signed purchase order by both parties stating that I paid 25% deposit & the rest will need to be paid upon delivery of goods. That is all that I have. I appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Arshish

I have gone over the purchase order many times & there is NO fine print of any sort. It doesnt state any penalty of loosing my deposit if I cancel the order. Its because of the lack of fine print, I am even considering getting my money back.

In response to the excellent answers provided by Mail J, Jeffrey V & Brian M :

1)There is no fine print or clause that states I cannot cancel the order.

2)To my misfortune, since this is the first time I commited to such a transaction, I canceled the order via telephone & not in writing.

To put it very crudely, am I screwed now ? This case will be tried in small claims court of NYC.

Answer 1

Depends on your state, but most likely you have a very good case. Most states allow a 3 day back out time, assuming you did back out the very next day and a time line was not established you may not have violated the contract but instead voided it. in which case you would be entitled to 100% of all things payed minus filing costs, if you did violate the contract you may be responsible to pay 100% of the agreed amount minus costs to the supplier. I hope you backed out in writting.

Answer 2

Read the terms of the contract carefully. What are the provisions of the contract for cancellation of the order? If you cancelled (in writing is best) before he was due to perform his part of the agreement, then the contract is still executory. That has good points and bad points for you.
First the good point. You cancelled before the order was placed. That minimizes damages, and lessens the likelihood of
an allegation of bad faith breach. Now the bad points. If the other
party is a merchant in the usual business of selling those goods,
you could in theory be the target of a counterclaim in which the seller could seek resale damages if he was able to resell the goods in a reasonable manner and without undue delay. You could be on the hook for the difference between the contract price and the resale price. Also, if the seller made a good faith effort to sell and couldnt, you could be liable for the contract damages. Unless the contract provides for cancellation, and even if it does there is almost always some sort of liquidated damage clause in the agreement, the parole evidence rule usually bars this sort of action absent some defense such as frustration of purpose or intervening illegality.
In summary, unless you have some evidence that you were excused from performing your end of the agreement, the statute of limitation for breach of written contract is four years. That means that he could counterclaim against you in anticipatory repudiation, and probably win based on what you have said. The serious downside to small claims is that only the defendant may
appeal a judgment in most jurisdictions. So, you need to weigh what you might gain against what you might loose, assuming that the adverse party counterclaims.

Answer 3

Depends on the documention you have at the time of the deal. if you had a contract and he violated the terms of contract, you have a good chance.

Read the fine prints carefully. what does it say about cancelling the order?.. how much time did he give you to to change your mind?..

one thing about the small claims court, if he have a lawyer, most likely he will lose. BUT don't give up. since this is a small claims caourt, i guess the amount is not that great and you can afford to lose it. so keep appealing and make him either give up because lawyer fees exceeds justification to fight this case or cost him time and money untill you can't no go further.

Answer 4

Dont fool around with enormous corporation basically take all your reciepts and take them to court docket. and can I returned say takeALL of your reciepts, i'm hoping you stored the reciepts for the two earlier appartments. in case you have each and all the info on the paper you're particular to win. your managing a corporation the place the left hand does not be attentive to what the suited hand is doing. good success April

Answer 5

If what you're saying is accurate and you can prove it, your changes of getting a judgment against him are good.

Actually GETTING your money - well, that depends on how concerned he is about having the judgment marked satisfied.

Answer 6

You have reneged on your contract, do you think you should be reimbursed!
Buyers remorse usually won't prevail

Answer 7

You are pretty much gold, unless you get a stupid judge.