day care and contract

My child was in an in-home day care (person watched kids at her home).
The contract says we can pull the child out at any time, but we need to
Give 3 weeks notice, or can pull the child out and pay the 3 weeks in advance.
Well, I pulled my kid out (various reasons), and the provider wants me to pay her.
The fact is I NEVER signed the contract. My child was there for 6.5 months. Am I legally obligated to pay? Provider has indicated she’ll take me to small claims court if I don’t pay her. I’m not trying to be a jerk and stiff her, but A) she never made me sign a contract (she did provide a copy to me at the time of initial service), and B) her place was dirty, and she lied to us about the # of kids that would be there (ie. instead of 4 there were 8 on some days), and the list goes on. So, am I legally obligated to pay? Thanks.

I laughed when I read this posting--you don't see the irony, do you?

You are stating you shouldn't have to pay because there was no contract, then you state she violated the agreement (i.e. contract) to have only four kids and had, instead, eight. Either there is an agreement, or there isn't. You cannot have it both ways. If you want to state she outlined terms of a specific agreement (i.e. number of kids, amount to be paid, notice necessary, etc.) you cannot expect her to be bound by it while you are not. Understood?

Your not signing a contract is irrelevant since you both understand the terms of the contract ( as evidenced by your outlining the specifics of it here) and you had, at least, a verbal agreement. Verbal agreements are legally binding. Obviously, since your child was there for six months ( as opposed to six days ) you both understood and accepted the terms between you.

She can sue you and I believe she can win. However, if you wish, you can bring a separate cause of action against her if she violated the terms of the contract, but that doesn't give you cause not to pay. But for three weeks worth of child care, you might be better advised to simply move on.

gotcha. well, technically there were no contract terms since it wasn't signed. i was only bringing up those points as discussion, but i would not use those as grounds to sue her. that said, it's moot, cuz if our agreement is legally binding even though it wasn't a signed contract then i guess i either have to pay her or accept the fact that she may take me to small claims. great. thanks.

It's a two edged sword. She may, of course, be weighing her options, too. She may be telling you she will sue, but if what you said is true, she may also be afraid you may bring some jeopardy to her business via your allegations of filth, etc.

You both have cards to play, but you both have something to lose---like a big game of chicken---but, fortunately, the results aren't nearly as deadly.

Good luck.

actually, what do i have to lose if she takes me to small claims court? i may have to pay her + a small court fee (I'd imagine) and a couple hours of my time.

so if i call her bluff then i don't have to pay a dime, and if she takes me to court then i have to pay + other things above. or am i missing something else? thanks for your advice.