Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

What you have is an ambiuous contract. In the case of an ambiguous contract, there are a number of arcane rules for interpreting it, but there is no absolute and certain rule. The objective is to come up with the meaning that both parties intended or would reasonably have intended had they thought about all scenarios. In this case I would feel more comfortable on the side of the clients for two reasons. 1. The words "such as" are inclusive, not exclusive. So what comes after is not a binding limited list of "emergencies." It is only some examples. There is a good argument that sudden death in the family is an "emergency." 2. One of the rules of interpreation is that conflicting interpretations where both are reasonable, are resolved against the person who drafted the contract language. Presumably the photographer or someone doing it for him or her, drafted the contract. Therefore, an ambiguity that is open to two reasonable interpreations, if it cannot otherwise be clairified as to intended meaning, would be decided against the photographer.