Huntington, NY asked in Business Law for New York

Q: Is it legal for a wedding venue to use wedding service down payments for their operating budget?

We are asking because we are getting married next may and want a guarantee that if they go bankrupt that we will not lose the many thousands of dollars that we would have made in down payments so we offered to set up an escrow account (which should have been totally fine) but the venue response was shocking and threatening. They told us that if we "refuse to make our monthly payments, they will release our wedding date" and keep all previously made down payments. No one said "refusal to pay" we were just courteously asking so we don't lose all if our money. We are concerned they are using our down payments for everyday operations and that (worst case scenario) they go bankrupt and run away with all of our wedding funds.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Michael David Siegel
Michael David Siegel
Answered
  • New York, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: There are no guarantees here. Wedding venues do not have escrow accounts for deposits like a lawyer or real estate owner.

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