[SML] Severe weather cancellation of performance

[Richard Niederberg]

I am not here to ‘Rip Things Apart’. Notwithstanding the weather, how many
persons showed up? How many persons called your box office and requested an
exchange? You will most likely have to pay the performer, if you haven't
already. If he/she is ready to go on, rebook the performer on a mutually
agreeable date, if you’ve made the payment, and let the potential audience
use their tickets that night. No refunds, rain checks, or exchanges except
for the above. Put the show on, unless it would create liability for the
theatre or booking agent, or owner. If this sounds  “It Depends”, it is. No
Legalese. Fortunately, I have not undertaken this case. It is all about
liability.

/s/ Richard Niederberg, Esq.
_________


On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 4:44 PM Kristi R-C via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> I’m not a lawyer, probably should have become one when the college’s
> attorney told me I’d be good at it but now the ROI is not worth 3 years in
> law school. So here’s what this overeducated layperson thinks...
>
> If the local municipal authorities (e.g., governor, mayor, town council,
> law enforcement) have told folks to stay off the roads because it’s not
> safe (not just the weather guy on TV) I suspect a claim of Force Majeure
> will hold, but it’s technically an “Act of God” since it’s Mother Nature’s
> fault so if the presiding jurisdiction treats them the same, you should be
> fine. Are there places that treat it differently? I don’t know. Maybe? I do
> know that kind of hair-splitting definition parsing makes lawyers giggle
> with glee.
>
> If you were to go to court as the hosting venue, you would show that you
> lost ticket revenue, box office expenses (credit card charge fees),
> advertising expenses, wage for staff/stagehands who pre-set items, wages
> for anyone in the building already if it was cancelled the day of, etc. to
> show you also had a loss similar to what the Artist is missing by not being
> paid for the show.
>
> Best option for all sides is to postpone the event to a mutually agreeable
> date and try again.
>
> Now, let’s see how Richard Niederberg rips this apart. ;)
>
> Kristi R-C
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