Q: I enrolled and registered my two children to attend Annandale Christian School, (ACS), Laurel for 2021/22 School.
I enrolled and registered my two children to attend Annandale Christian School, (ACS), Laurel for 2021/22 School year in March which I have subsequently canceled in July. However ACS has invited my attention to a clause in the contract which was not properly explained to me at the time of signing the contract that in the event of cancelation of the contract, you are required to pay all tuition fees for servers that my children has not benefited from. Please advise.”
writing to get information on a hidden clause to a contract which was not conspicuously displayed requiring tuition fees to be fully paid in the event of a cancellation of a contact.
A:
This forum is not designed for direct solicitation for hiring lawyers, but you are free to search the site to locate a lawyer and then contact that lawyer to discuss potential engagement of ther services. As for your specific issue, the Maryland Court of Appeals addressed an almost identical contractual issue in the case of Barrie School v. Patch, and upheld the schools binding tuition agreement despite the parents' attempt to terminate the tuition contract prior to the start of the school year. Here is a link to a law review article discussing the case, its reasonong, and the contract principles involved:
https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2242&context=lf
You may wish to have a lawyer more carefully review the contract for any possible distinctions between your contract provisions and the one in the above case, but it is likley your best option would be to try and negotiate with the school on a settlement of the tuition owed. The parents in the above case not only had to pay the full tuition, but the court also enforced the attorney's fees and costs provision and awarded those amounts against them as well, plus prejudgment interest on the debt.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
