I’ll take $15,000 over an A in a class any day lol. I’ll just drop the class if need be due to ‘extenuating circumstances’. Thats the last thing I’m worried about.
Also, I’m taking this class my 2nd semester freshman year when its a 6th semester class. So I’m not in any rush to take this class.
-Chris
Personally I would drop the whole thing and accept a lower rate of pay as well as class benefits. IF you take a teacher to court you will no doubt be frowned upon by other teachers.
Although you spent ~16 hours you will find yourself putting in more time by pursuing the entire case and it may mean your teacher missing classes and you missing classes which isn’t good for anyone.
Im no lawyer nor claiming to be one. However, I am very good at getting my money.
Collect your case yourself and take it over his head!
“Dean, your professor is losing credibility because 40 of his students heard him offer money for the completion of a project the next day. The criteria was met and the work has been accepted by the professor. In order to maintain the credibility of the department, the money must be paid.”
Its likely they will take the professors side.
At this point, you play a card - the local media has heard of this story and requested an interview with you. You have declined, in order to speak with the dean first.
Nothing hurts like bad press !
Play the game
Well good luck!
I’m curious to see this work that you worked so hard on. Any chance you’d post a little glimpse of it.
It’s just with all this talking, I would like to see what you guys actually did.
Either way, I hope it gets figured out – stinks to do that kind of work for well… nothing (at least up to this point).
Cheers!
It’s a verbal offer so legally I don’t think you really stand anywhere.
However, you really should be pushing this issue as hard as possible, in my opinion. He gave you his word, and if a professor promises you something and doesn’t deliver then he did you wrong. You should be trying harder to get him to award your 15,000. Or, report him to his superiors.
Good luck. You want to aim for at least a public apology in front of the entire class, and in best case, the 15,000 he promised.
Verbal contracts are legally binding in the state of NY, as long as certain criteria is met. What that criteria is exactly, I’m not entirely sure, thats why I’m going to the legal advisor at the student union tomorrow.
-Chris
I posted twice a quote from NY law that says it doesn’t have to be in writing and you guys still keep talking about how it does
Something is not clear to me. When he said he wasn’t going to pay you for your work, did you still hand it over to him?
Yes, I picked that idea up somewhere a long the line too. Is this the case?
We gave him printouts of our designs. No files. Yes, that was probably a mistake looking back on it now, but we just didnt expect this to happen so we werent prepared.
-Chris
You should be charging $225/hr if you have such deep understanding of the law. I never knew it was so simple 
Can you offer alternative way to interpret “promise, undertaking or contract, which is valid in other respects and is otherwise enforceable, is not void for lack of a note, memorandum or other writing”? Rocket science, eh? Two lines in English
I wont cover whats already been said. Verbal contracts are hard to enforce but you have a good claim and on principle, I think you should pursue this – hard.
If its school related, send the invoice to the schools accounts payable department.
In addition to the 15k for unpaid services, you may also want to consider adding on money for breach of contract, theft of service, copyright infringement for each and every item “created”, percentages of thier revenue earned based on your marketing slogan and material – just keep adding charges on it.
15k is way above the limit for small claims court, so if you make it 150k, chances are he will settle for 20 or even 30k. Negotiate!
What theft of service? What copyright infringement? All they gave him was a print out of their idea.
I definitely plan on pursuing it but not for anything more than was originally stated.
-Chris
Theft of service for using a marketing plan Chris devised without paying for it. Copyright infringment if they used designs and logos they created.
If your going to court, toss everything at them. Let the judge toss it out. It doesn’t hurt you and it gives you something to start negotiate with out of court. I’d rather talk them down from 150k and work my down to the 15k plus court expenses that are due than to start off at the 15k and loose out on court expenses and end up with maybe 2k.
That is a dream…
I wouldn’t sue if I were you. I understand that you may want to, and it may be your best best to ever see your money, but he can claim it was just a ‘joke’ or he wasn’t being serious even. If you sue, he can also say he just hired someone else to do it instead of you. He didn’t say ANYONE who does it would receive $15,000 did he?
Also, you have to walk the halls of your school. Other professors won’t be to fond of you knowing that you sued a colleague. I, personally, wouldn’t sue over one nights worth of work.
Why don’t you go talk to him about compensation. You said he had enough time to bring it up, but it should have been your job to bring it up. He may have thought that he had you sold when he said he would compensate you with a grading-break. If you do plan to go through with this, make sure to go see him and attempt to resolve this in person first.
Anyway, that is just my $0.02. Good luck and keep us informed.
Ya know, you MAY think I’ve been hard on you but I do wish you the best of luck! I REALLY think your only hope is to shame this teacher into giving you something decent for your work … now, $15,000 for 15 hours work? I don’t think so but I do think IF you approach the school administration with it and MAYBE get the local news invloved you may get something … and in all honesty … $15,000 / 15 hours? Unless you have created the “next big thing” it seems a tad overboard!
I’ve just been giving you the advice of someone who knows ALL too well it is SO Easy to get screwed out there!