Pacheco v. Scoblionko
532 A.2d 1036 (Me.1987)
Facts: The plaintiff prepaid $3,100 for his kid’s summer
camp. In the contract the plaintiff
signed, it said that if a refund request was made after May 1, the camp would
keep the whole amount paid to date. The plaintiff
asked for a refund on June 14 and the defendant refused to give back any
money. The plaintiff sued and recovered
the entire $3,100 at trial. The defendant
appealed.
Issue: Is the refund clause in the contract enforceable?
Rule: A liquidated damages clause in a contract is
enforceable if the damages are difficult to predict and the damages fixed in
the contract are a reasonable prediction of what it will take to compensate the
injured party.
Analysis: The court said that the defendant failed to show what
actual damages were caused or could have been caused by the plaintiff’s
cancellation. Therefore, the damages
specified were ruled “excessive” and “disproportionate”.
Conclusion: The court upheld the verdict for the plaintiff.