Well I got screwed again. This seems to be an ongoing issue lately

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wvmystichrome

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Long story short.

Daughter played High School varsity basketball for 7 years.

3 years or so ago the coach came to me and asked me to film the games and then upload them to the teams Hudl account.

We Shook hands on it.

Every game took at least 2 hours to film. It also took 3 - 4 hours to upload. I also kept the scoring for each game updated on the Hudl site. I also had to pay to get in the games.

High School Principal tells me that the coach is supposed to pay me for doing this.

Back in March I sent him a bill for the last 3 years per our agreement.

Even gave him a 20% discount if paid within 30 days.

Only people that knew about it was me, my wife and the coach.

At the Prom a woman turned around and told me about the bill, so that meant he was running his mouth. Her daughter still plays and she thought it was a shame I charged him to do the videos.

Fast forward to last week when I tried to get the principal to get him to pay the bill. He referred me to the school's attorney.

Call him today per his request. He basically says I am screwed because I did not go through the board of education to get this re approved. I did not know I had too. I thought a verbal agreement was binding but the attorney basically said good luck and have a great day and nice talking to you. He said if it is not in writing it never happened.

What a wonderful life lately. SMH!

Any suggestions? I may contact a lawyer to see what they may say but since Pike County KY is a strictly controlled county I doubt I would get anything or get any help from anyone.

Thanks
 

Russo

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you aren't going to get paid.. but i bet you can find some dirt on the coach that could ruin him for the rest of his life... since i do business with my local government, i know how they are.. the fact that you went more than a season without getting paid meant you could have found out sooner how the game works, pun intended..
 

FJohnny

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Sorry to hear that you got taken advantage of. Big drag. Might have to chalk it up to getting to watch your daughter a whole bunch. Not a total loss in the scheme of things. If only you could have submitted invoices a little more often you may have known you were dealing with the wrong guy.

Good luck to both you and your daughter.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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When were you told you were supposed to be getting paid? At a glance this sounds like you agreed to do it for free, then were told you should be getting paid and decided to bill for it.

And no, you won't get a dime out of a school system. Hell my wife works for a school system and sometimes takes 6months to get paid for things she DOES have in writing
 

Weather Man

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The 3 year here is your bill just doesn't ring true, sorry. Don't believe we are getting the whole story. Sounds more like a disagreement between you and the school and you decided to twit them.
 

CV355

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Being taken advantage of sucks, no question there. But I do have a question on the initial assumption:

3 years or so ago the coach came to me and asked me to film the games and then upload them to the teams Hudl account.

We Shook hands on it.

Shook hands on what? Was there any talk of a payment, or was this pro-bono?

High School Principal tells me that the coach is supposed to pay me for doing this.
Back in March I sent him a bill for the last 3 years per our agreement.

Was it just a question over who pays, or that it was a paid gig? I hate to say it, but waiting that long to collect on any rendered service isn't going to help your case. It sounds like you found out you should have been paid, and then tried to get paid for past services rendered, and that's where they stonewalled you. I don't blame you for wanting to get what you should have been paid, but it sounds like you agreed to do it for free initially.

Since it has already progressed to getting lawyers involved, and there was no original contract, I don't see it working in your favor unfortunately.

tl;dr: Handshake agreements died 30 years ago. Get everything in writing, don't do anything for free, and act quick if you're owned money. It's a nasty world and everyone is out to screw over everyone else.
 

SVOGT302

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I taped my son's football game for the coaches & never considered getting paid.
 

HISSMAN

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You lost the argument at "Shook hands". Sorry.

I am PeeWee football head coach and don't get paid. As parents, we do a lot of shit for our kids.
 

COBRA_ESQ

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Generally here is how it goes:

Verbal contracts are enforceable, they are just harder to prove. Your contract is with the coach or possibly with the school district if the coach claims he had the authority to bind the district or if you can show he had the implied authority to bind the district.

If the coach denies the contract, then in court it is your word (and your wife's if she was present when the agreement was reached or heard it from the coach) against the coach's word. If in court the coach acknowledges the agreement or you are believed over him the agreement is enforceable. The next issue is how much were you to be paid. Again your word against his. If there was no agreed upon amount you MAY be able to get Quantum Meruit (the reasonable value of your services, which is not necessarily your "usual fee").

Assumes the lawyer for the district was correct and a board resolution was required it may not be the final word. If the coach is proven to have the actual or implied authority of the district to hire you, the lack of approval from the board may not prevent you from collecting from the district since you did not know (or have reason to know) that you needed a formal resolution.

You should talk to a local lawyer who will discuss these and other issues that may affect the outcome. Many do not charge for an initial consultation.
 

mysticsvt

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Good luck. My only comment is a verbal agreement is a bad idea and 3 years to ask for a lump sum from a school...kinda crazy.
 

HISSMAN

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Generally here is how it goes:

Verbal contracts are enforceable, they are just harder to prove. Your contract is with the coach or possibly with the school district if the coach claims he had the authority to bind the district or if you can show he had the implied authority to bind the district.

If the coach denies the contract, then in court it is your word (and your wife's if she was present when the agreement was reached or heard it from the coach) against the coach's word. If in court the coach acknowledges the agreement or you are believed over him the agreement is enforceable. The next issue is how much were you to be paid. Again your word against his. If there was no agreed upon amount you MAY be able to get Quantum Meruit (the reasonable value of your services, which is not necessarily your "usual fee").

Assumes the lawyer for the district was correct and a board resolution was required it may not be the final word. If the coach is proven to have the actual or implied authority of the district to hire you, the lack of approval from the board may not prevent you from collecting from the district since you did not know (or have reason to know) that you needed a formal resolution.

You should talk to a local lawyer who will discuss these and other issues that may affect the outcome. Many do not charge for an initial consultation.

In closing. Don't enter into verbal agreements.
 

ViperRed91GT

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When were you told you were supposed to be getting paid? At a glance this sounds like you agreed to do it for free, then were told you should be getting paid and decided to bill for it.

And no, you won't get a dime out of a school system. Hell my wife works for a school system and sometimes takes 6months to get paid for things she DOES have in writing

That’s how I read it as well. You planned on doing it for free from the get go. That seems to be the agreement since you weren’t paid for 3 years, and obviously didn’t know you should be.
 

ZYBORG

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There is a sucker born every minute... lol.

Sorry you got took, shouldn’t have shook!
 

MG0h3

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I agree and suspect a court would see it the same.

Who would expect a bill after 3yrs of doing the work without a single charge.

Would be like if one if one of my tenants sent me 3yrs or repair bills that they did on their own.


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13COBRA

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You're out of luck. Just delete the account and part ways.

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wvmystichrome

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oh man tough bit of luck lately...

Yep and it sucks

you aren't going to get paid.. but i bet you can find some dirt on the coach that could ruin him for the rest of his life... since i do business with my local government, i know how they are.. the fact that you went more than a season without getting paid meant you could have found out sooner how the game works, pun intended..

I could but he is politically connected so out of luck on that.

Sorry to hear that you got taken advantage of. Big drag. Might have to chalk it up to getting to watch your daughter a whole bunch. Not a total loss in the scheme of things. If only you could have submitted invoices a little more often you may have known you were dealing with the wrong guy.

Good luck to both you and your daughter.

She graduated this year. No more worries with this coach.


When were you told you were supposed to be getting paid? At a glance this sounds like you agreed to do it for free, then were told you should be getting paid and decided to bill for it.

And no, you won't get a dime out of a school system. Hell my wife works for a school system and sometimes takes 6months to get paid for things she DOES have in writing

The Principal of the school came up to me during a game and asked me if I was getting paid for filming all the basketball games. I said NO. He said you are supposed to be getting paid by the coach.

The 3 year here is your bill just doesn't ring true, sorry. Don't believe we are getting the whole story. Sounds more like a disagreement between you and the school and you decided to twit them.

No did not decide to "twit them." The principal came to me and said the coach was supposed to be paying me to do the filming. Not much more to the story. Everyone involved in the program new I was doing it. Also anyone that filmed or took pictures at the school or school functions got paid to do it except me. We had to pay for Homecoming pics, Varsity court pics and Senior day pics. Their "close people" made money to do this but when it came to me getting paid I got the shaft. That's ok I learned another lesson today. DON'T DO FAVORS FOR ANYONE BUT YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS YOU TRUST. Also verbal/handshake agreements don't mean anything this day and time.

Also I would have settled for him just paying me for the time to film and upload the games for this year alone which would have been under $2,000.00 but he won't even respond to me. Take 35 games at roughly 6 hours a game just to film and upload equals to over 210 hours of work. He USED my videos immensely. He even shared them with other teams around the state and region. Also he gave copies to other people and college scouts. But again I learned a tough lesson today.
 

wvmystichrome

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Being taken advantage of sucks, no question there. But I do have a question on the initial assumption:



Shook hands on what? Was there any talk of a payment, or was this pro-bono?



Was it just a question over who pays, or that it was a paid gig? I hate to say it, but waiting that long to collect on any rendered service isn't going to help your case. It sounds like you found out you should have been paid, and then tried to get paid for past services rendered, and that's where they stonewalled you. I don't blame you for wanting to get what you should have been paid, but it sounds like you agreed to do it for free initially.

Since it has already progressed to getting lawyers involved, and there was no original contract, I don't see it working in your favor unfortunately.

tl;dr: Handshake agreements died 30 years ago. Get everything in writing, don't do anything for free, and act quick if you're owned money. It's a nasty world and everyone is out to screw over everyone else.

I just gave him a list of what I had did for the three years. I was only wanting paid for this past season.


Generally here is how it goes:

Verbal contracts are enforceable, they are just harder to prove. Your contract is with the coach or possibly with the school district if the coach claims he had the authority to bind the district or if you can show he had the implied authority to bind the district.

If the coach denies the contract, then in court it is your word (and your wife's if she was present when the agreement was reached or heard it from the coach) against the coach's word. If in court the coach acknowledges the agreement or you are believed over him the agreement is enforceable. The next issue is how much were you to be paid. Again your word against his. If there was no agreed upon amount you MAY be able to get Quantum Meruit (the reasonable value of your services, which is not necessarily your "usual fee").

Assumes the lawyer for the district was correct and a board resolution was required it may not be the final word. If the coach is proven to have the actual or implied authority of the district to hire you, the lack of approval from the board may not prevent you from collecting from the district since you did not know (or have reason to know) that you needed a formal resolution.

You should talk to a local lawyer who will discuss these and other issues that may affect the outcome. Many do not charge for an initial consultation.

I talked to the local school boards attorney and he told me the following. Basically I have no leg to stand on. First I would have had to submit a form to become a preferred vendor. Second I would have had to apply to him to be the preferred vendor. Third after he reviewed I would have to appear in front of the board of education and let them vote on me, if he approved of me. Fourth I would have to go to the school administrators and have them select me to do the filming. Since no one else attempted to do this I would have had no competition. So to go through all the red tape I still probably would have not gotten paid. But he did say if the funds were not available at the school then if I had followed the above steps I could have sent the bill to the board. He agreed I should have gotten paid but the coach did not inform me of the correct procedures to legally bill and get paid. Live and learn.

Good luck. My only comment is a verbal agreement is a bad idea and 3 years to ask for a lump sum from a school...kinda crazy.

I only asked for a fraction. Basically what it cost me for this year. That is why I gave him a discount. Basically pay me for filming but not the mileage and ticket purchases.

I agree and suspect a court would see it the same.

Who would expect a bill after 3yrs of doing the work without a single charge.

Would be like if one if one of my tenants sent me 3yrs or repair bills that they did on their own.


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I agree. As I said above I was only asking for a fraction. Basically what I had done for this year. Coach will not even contact me about it. He knows what he did and how he put one over on me. Got me to do all the work and he took all the glory.
 

CobraBob

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Man, Michael, that sucks. Reading through your last post, it appears that the coach did not have the authority to let you video tape for a fee in the first place. So the school is likely out of the picture now. I'm not an attorney, but if anything you'd maybe have to try to sue him personally. I don't see it ending well for you financially, what with attorney fee's added on if you don't get a judgement in your favor. Is there a reason why you didn't send the school/coach a bill after the first year of video taping?

I'm confused by something you posted. You said your daughter played on the high school varsity team for 7 years. Was that a typo?

Michael, I hope things turn in your favor (positively) going forward. As far as contract stuff, avoid verbal agreements and insist on a formal, written contract.
 
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