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In June 2020, Jon and Katie decided to get married. They were planning to go down to City Hall with a couple of friends to do the deed, but their families lobbied hard for a proper wedding, and they acceded. They decided to have it over Thanksgiving weekend in Colorado, where they lived. Jon went on the web to search for a place, and found a bucolic, small hotel in the foothills overlooking Red Rocks Park, about an hour's drive outside of Denver. The hotel, the Red Rocks Inn, had 15 guest rooms and surrounded by beautiful grounds that would be perfect for a wedding. They called the manager, Rupert Ravenal, and told him they were looking for space for a November wedding. "We charge a standard fee of $7500 to close off the grounds for the afternoon for a private ceremony and reception. Are you interested in reserving rooms for your guests as well? If so, I wouldn't wait. Ski season here begins November 1, and things fill up fast." "What's the cost of a room?""How many rooms do you need?""Could be as many as 12, I doubt any more than that." "I'll tell you what," Rupert said. "A single room costs $500 a night, so that would be $6000 for 12 rooms. I'll rent you all 15 for the same price. That way, you can have the whole place to yourselves. We'd need a 50 percent deposit to hold the guest rooms and grounds for the ceremony, but you can cancel without penalty up until 14 days before the check-in date. The balance is due one week before the check-in date. Do you have a date in mind?" "Yes, Friday, November 27th." "Oh, that's a different story. We have a two-night minimum stay over the Thanksgiving holiday." "Katie," Jon said, "We can't ask our families to spend that much. How about if we cover the costs ourselves, as a gift to our families. If we reserve the rooms for Thursday and Friday night, we can all have Thanksgiving dinner together, and hold the ceremony on Friday afternoon." Rupert piped in: "We usually close the restaurant on Thanksgiving to give the staff the day off, but I can check whether the chef and enough of the staff would be willing to work. If so, we could prepare a simple but elegant prix fixe dinner for everyone. But you don't need to decide that now. I'll fax you a copy of the contract today for the rooms. If you can sign it and return it with the deposit, we'll be all set." When the contract arrived, Katie read through the first page: The undersigned hereby reserve 15 rooms at the Red Rocks Inn (hereinafter "Inn"), for two nights, 11/26/20 and 11/27/20, at a cost of $6000/night plus gratuities, and reserve the grounds for their exclusive use for a wedding ceremony on the afternoon of 11/27/20 at a cost of $7500. A deposit of 50% is due upon signing the contract, with the balance due seven (7) days before check-in. At the bottom were signature lines for Katie, Jon, and Rupert. Right above them was written: "I have read and hereby assent to the Terms and Conditions on the reverse side of this page," with a box to initial." Included among the terms and conditions on the back were the following: ¶ 1 Guests may cancel reservations any time up to October 1, 2020, and receive a full refund. Thereafter, Guests shall be liable for 100 percent of the costs of the reservations. Management is hereby authorized to charge any unpaid balance to the Guest's credit card on file. ¶2 The performance of this Agreement is subject to termination without liability upon the occurrence of any circumstance beyond the control of either party – such as acts of God, terrorist acts, government regulation, disaster, strikes, civil disorder, or curtailment of transportation facilities – to the extent that such circumstance makes it illegal or impossible for the Hotel to provide, or for groups in general to use, the Hotel facilities. ¶ 3 In the event the Inn is unable for any reason to fulfil Guest's reservations, its liability shall be limited to return of payments received. Guests hereby agree to hold the Inn harmless for any consequential damages resulting from performance of this contract, including but not limited to damages caused by its own negligence. ¶ 4: This contract contains the whole of the agreement between the parties and supersedes any prior statements, oral or in writing, concerning any matter related to this agreement. Katie glanced at the terms, and fixed on ¶3. "I hate lawyers," she said. "As a matter of principle, I refuse to indemnify Red Rocks Inn for its own negligence." "Then don't," Jon said. Katie crossed out ¶3, signed on the signature line without initialing the box above it, and faxed it back to Rupert with her credit card information. In early September, Rupert called her to find out what she was planning to do about Thanksgiving dinner. "My staff is willing to work that day if you'd like us to prepare a meal. I can have the chef send you a proposed menu if you like." "Great. We are vegetarians, so no meat please." The performance of this Agreement is subject to termination without liability upon the occurrence of any circumstance beyond the control of either party – such as acts of God, terrorist acts, government regulation, disaster, strikes, civil disorder, or curtailment of transportation facilities – to the extent that such circumstance makes it illegal or impossible for the Hotel to provide, or for groups in general to use, the Hotel facilities. The next day, Rupert faxed her a detailed proposal for a seven-course vegetarian tasting menu, at a cost of $250/person. At the bottom was written: Alcohol and gratuities not included.Chef at his discretion may make substitutions in the menu as necessitated by available supply.A nonrefundable deposit of $1000 is required at the time the order is placed. The balance is due on November 1, 2020. Katie called up Rupert to say that her father was a vintner and would supply all the wine for the meal. "But of course," Rupert said. "We'll need a $1000 nonrefundable deposit to hold the space. The balance is due on November 1st." Katie told him to put the charge on her credit card. In early October, COVID infection rates began to spike across the country. By the third week in October, the number of reported cases was growing at an alarming rate. Jon and Katie decided it would be irresponsible to go forward with the wedding as planned. The next day, October 26th, Katie emailed Rupert to say that in light of the rising number of cases of COVID-19 across the country, they were cancelling the wedding, and to request a refund of the deposits for the rooms and grounds. The next day, Rupert replied: Dear Jon and Katie: I am so very sorry to hear of your change in plans, but of course I understand. An itemized bill for the balance you owe is below. I can put the charges on your credit card, if you like. If you would prefer to pay by some other means, let me know. Under the circumstances, I'm happy to extend the date for payment to November 30th. 1. + - - Rupert Room reservations, November 26th and 27th: $12,000 15 rooms, two nights $2,400 20% gratuity for staff _______ $14,400 total$ 6,000 deposit received 6/15/20 $8,400 balance due 2. Wedding and reception$7,500 rental fee for grounds - $3,750 deposit received 6/15/20 _________$3,750 balance due 3. Thanksgiving dinner$7,500 dinner for 30 @ $250/person$1,500 supplemental charge for white truffles ++ $ 750 corkage fee for wine supplied by customer ($50 per bottle, minimum of 15 bottles) __________$9,750 total$1,000 deposit received 9/7/20 __________ $8,750 balance dueTotal remaining balance for items 1, 2, and 3: $20,900. Payment due in full by Nov. 30th, 2020. - "What the hell?" said Jon. They called up Rupert. "OK, let's start at the top here," said Jon. "Can you explain the $8400 balance for the rooms? We cancelled on October 26th, well before the 14-day deadline for free cancellations. You owe us money back, not the other way around." "I'm afraid the 14-day period doesn't apply to holiday weeks, when we require more advance notice. Didn't you read ¶1 of the Terms and Conditions? The deadline for cancelling your reservations was Oct. 1st. You are well past it." "And the 20 percent gratuity for staff we won't need because we won't be there?" "I‘m afraid we have certain obligations we have to meet whether you are there or not." "OK, on to the reservation for the grounds," said Jon. "I suppose the same Oct. 1st deadline applies to cancelling that reservation?" "Yes, I'm afraid it does." "Moving right along to Thanksgiving dinner," said Jon. "I suppose our cancelling this on Oct. 26th was also too late?" "Not exactly," said Rupert. "That one you can't cancel at all." "Where does it say that?" said Jon."Nowhere," said Rupert. "It doesn't have to. A contract is a contract." "And the corkage fee?" "That's standard in the industry," said Rupert. "Food is a loss-leader for most restaurants. We depend upon the high markup on wine to keep us afloat. We have no objection to customers bringing their own wine, but they have to pay for the privilege." "And, last but not least, the supplemental charge for the white truffles. Do tell." "The French cepes crop that the chef was relying on for the wild mushroom soup was destroyed by a fungus." "How ironic," Katie said. "A fungus on a fungus." "Happily," Rupert continued, "he was offered a shipment of rare white truffles in their place. An inspired substitution, he assures me. But of course they are not cheap. Hence the supplementary charge." "Cancel them." "We can't. They are on their way from France as we speak. Look, I know this is a lot of money, on top of your disappointment at having to postpone the wedding. I'd be willing to settle the whole bill for $15,000." "How kind of you," said Katie. "We will discuss your offer and get back to you." After they hung up, Katie immediately called the credit card company to put a block on any further charges from Red Rocks Inn while they figured out what to do. Katie and Jon have come to you for legal advice. In addition to the foregoing facts, they tell you the following. After the phone call with Rupert, Katie went on the Inn's website, and discovered that the price to rent a single room was $400/night, not $500, as Rupert had led them to believe. On Nov. 15th, Colorado imposed occupancy restrictions on all hotels due to the uptick in COVID cases, limiting them to 50% of their normal capacity. Katie checked the website, and discovered that all of the available rooms had been reserved for November 26th and 27th, and the hotel's restaurant was offering a special vegetarian tasting menu for Thanksgiving Day. Katie and Jon would like you to advise them on their legal options with respect to the guest room and grounds reservations and the Thanksgiving meal. In each case, you should assess the plausible arguments on both sides with respect to legal liability and potential remedies. If there are facts missing that are relevant to your answer, state what they are and how they might change the answer. Remember: you are not in the position of an advocate; they want a balanced view of their options here, so they can decide whether or not to accept Rupert's offer to settle the bill for $15,000.

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