I am a freelance artist and a museum refuses to pay me for work I completed, what can I do?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
I am a freelance artist and a museum refuses to pay me for work I completed, what can I do?
I worked for a well known museum (out of state) on an art instillation, in which I created all of the pieces to be on display. There was no written agreement, only verbal. I was 2 days late in delivering some of the pieces, and now they won’t pay me. They offered to give me 54% of the total they owe me but that seems unfair.
Asked on July 17, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
An oral (or verbal) agreement is enforceable. A material, or important, breach by you (such as missing a deadline, if the deadline was critical--e.g. related to when they would start exhibiting) could allow the museum to terminate the agreement and not pay--but if they accepted the pieces, the most they should be able to do for your breach would usually be to seek to recover from you any direct costs or losses they incurred from your breach (the delay). For example, say that because the pieces were late, they had to pay staff overtime to install them; they could theoretically look to set off the cost of the overtime versus what they agreed to pay you.
Therefore, depending on the circumstances (i.e. how significant the delay was; costs or losses from the delay), you may be able to seek to enforce the agreement for up to the full amount of the agreed-upon amount. However, to do so, you'd have to sue the museum, which is always trickier and often more expensive with an out-of-state entity. You need to weigh the cost of litigation versus what you hope to recover (the other 46%) to see if it is worthwhile.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.