ANY LAWYERS OR RACE DIRECTORS...comment on refund policy, etc.

I've worked with several races, and plenty of people have asked this question. No, its a simple contract. You would have a case if you could demonstrate fraud or negligence in planning (the weather wasn't really that bad, etc), or if they hadn't mentioned the weather cancellation policy in the contract.

And adhesion contract?? Hah, that's rich. Did your friend have no choice but to enter the race, and accept an unbalanced contract? Of course not. He entered into the contract freely, and knew the risks.

get a clue dogscalder

holland, you are a douche...it was a reasonable question and you're the one who needs a clue, biotch

Also, in case you're not aware, some race costs are paid in advance. They also probably lost some entries. So I would not assume they're walking away with a ton of money because of this tragedy. And having been on the other side, I assure you its not an unfair policy. A full refund could mean bankruptcy.

How about the doctrine of frustration? (and I'm not talking about your sex life)

just b/c a race hasnt occurred doesnt mean costs havent been incurred.

a race director's JOB (yes, job--which implies he should be paid) starts LONG before race day. there are administrative, marketing, and planning costs that are SUNK costs--those cant be recovered and must be paid in some way, ie entry fees.

when you pay uncle sam, the city, or county for race permits, fat chance they will ever give you a refund if the race isnt held. or if you pay for race insurance, is the insurance company gonna give you a refund? will the magazines in which you advertise return your payments?

runners sign a waiver for a reason. if they dont like it, they can find another race to run.

How about this instance-

I was out of town and went to a race at a local museum. I arrived 1 hour + prior to the event, but it was raining fairly hard, with some thunder and lightning. I pay my $25 race day entry and take shelter in the museum for a little while with everyone else. Go out about 40 minutes before race to warm up, and when I return, get an announcement that because of the thunder and lightning, the race will be postponed 30 minutes. No problem- stretch inside, check back in 30 minutes- they decided to postpone another hour (after consulting with local channel 4 forecaster). OK- now lots of grumbling from runners who don't mind running in the rain. One hour later, they make the announcement that they will postpone for several hours until the rain clears up. No set time, but feel free to hang around until then. Everyone takes off. I try to get my race day money back, but am told to consider it a charity donation. Everyone heads to their cars and finds parking tickets on their windshields for another donation. There weren't any no parking signs- just a note buried deep in the race entry (which I never saw beforehand) not to park along this stretch of road.

Lots of angry runners that day...

that sucks--when you signed the waiver & release, did you agree to no refunds?

race director wrote:

that sucks--when you signed the waiver & release, did you agree to no refunds?

I guess that would be the thing to check. I didn't even think to look at that point in the day. The funny thing was, there was another race, same morning, less than 5 miles away. I'm not sure if they ran, but I kept kicking myself for choosing the one that I did.

You bring up a good point, though. I'll always check the waiver now in case something gets cancelled on me...

Even if the court found that there is a contract between the race and the runner, the Court would probably say that the Race justifiably breached the contract due to an Act of God. Most contracts have such a clause and a court in this circumstance is likely to imply one given the circumstances.

As for adhesion contracts, the court needs to find, among other things, a disparity in bargaining power (e.g., Joe Consumer v. Visa).That doesn't exist here. Besides I don't see how finding adhesion here helps your friend, doesn't he want a contract to exist so he can seek redress. Finding adhesion would be necessary if your friend wanted to argue there was no contract at all.

Another Cancellation wrote:

You bring up a good point, though. I'll always check the waiver now in case something gets cancelled on me...

i dont think ive ever run a race that didnt stick in the "no refund" clause.

there was that case with the washington dc marathon that was cancelled like a month before the race--that was outright fraud--not an act of God. the race director filed for bankruptcy. there was supposed to be some class action law suit--anyone know whatever became of that?

og wrote:

Even if the court found that there is a contract between the race and the runner, the Court would probably say that the Race justifiably breached the contract due to an Act of God.

What the hell are you talking about?

Are we talking about a tornado, volcano, earthquake, or lightning strike? No. "Act of God" does not apply.

read the original post.here you go:1. well, laid-out race entry and website that dictates race policy -- NO REFUND IN THE EVENT OF EVENT CANCELLATION2. event cancelled because Ivan destroys islandDoesn't a hurricane fit into "an act of God"??

strategery wrote:

og wrote:

Even if the court found that there is a contract between the race and the runner, the Court would probably say that the Race justifiably breached the contract due to an Act of God.

What the hell are you talking about?

Are we talking about a tornado, volcano, earthquake, or lightning strike? No. "Act of God" does not apply.

I think the "act of God" he was referring to was the hurricane.

strategery wrote:

What the hell are you talking about?

Are we talking about a tornado, volcano, earthquake, or lightning strike? No. "Act of God" does not apply.

a hurricane destroys an island and you dont call that an act of God? gee, was it an act of vandals then?

Get over it. It's $15 to $25 or something. Move on. If you don't like it don't support that race directors races again. Bitching and moaning to the race director might get you a free entry to the next one, but other then that what did you expect? Run the race in the hurricane? Or pay for all the expenses and still refund your money? Welcome to real life.

Didn't god have something better to do that day like helping a football player catch a pass for a touchdown?

hey, questionable:

to whom are you spewing this venom?

strategery wrote:

How about the doctrine of frustration? (and I'm not talking about your sex life)

That sounds like a far more likely legal theory. But, at best, this is one of those that you'll lose even if you win. Is it worth court costs to sue for $25?