Legal Question in Business Law in New York

$1500 Deposit Being Held

I live in PA and the seller lives in NY. I gave $1500 as a deposit for an item and received a reciept for the $1500 with a note that I owed $2100 balance on the purchase. That is all that was exchanged. After giving the deposit to the seller, I realized I could not come up with the $2100 and asked for my deposit back within a week of giving the deposit. The seller said he will not give back the $1500 until he sells the item. This was a month and a half ago. He is telling me his lawyer says that he owes me nothing and that I should lose my deposit. This doesn't seem possible to me. Should I take him to small claims court or just make a police report of stolen money?


Asked on 10/16/06, 5:01 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Stephen Loeb Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb

Re: $1500 Deposit Being Held

The police won't be interested and the seller does have a right to at least a portion of the deposit on your admitted breach of the agreement. You would be entitled to any overage that the seller received above and beyond the eventual sale price plus any other foreseeable damages the seller sustained as a result of the breach.

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Answered on 10/16/06, 5:07 pm

Re: $1500 Deposit Being Held

This is not a criminal court matter. Basically, you entered into a Contract to purchase something and subsequently breached the contract. Your dispute now lies in the civil courts and involves the issue of damages.

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Answered on 10/16/06, 5:18 pm
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: $1500 Deposit Being Held

I agree with Stephen and Ray. You entered into a Contract and then breached it by not completing the sale. At best, this is a Small Claims matter to determine the Seller's damages and what amount, if any, should be returned. The damages do not allow the Seller to get more than he bargained for, so if he sold the item for less than you agreed upon, his claim is for the difference. You are totally at risk if he has not sold the item.

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Answered on 10/17/06, 11:03 am


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