Best Business Practices for Photographers, Third Edition, 3rd Edition

Chapter 35

Handling a Breach of Contract: Small Claims and Civil Court

Before you begin tossing around the phrase “I’ll see you in court” (at which time you’ve probably lost the person as a client), you need to actually know which court you’ll be seeing that person in—federal, criminal, civil, or civil’s little sister: small claims. Because we’re not talking about criminal (in almost all cases), and federal will most likely apply to copyright suits, you’ll likely be dealing with civil or small claims. Often, these courts can prove to be a more expeditious way of resolving your dispute.

First, though, it is important to understand the different types of breaches. There are a few types of contractual breaches:

• Fundamental breach. This breach is ...