Man Sues Wedding Photographer for the Cost of the Entire Ceremony
After Todd J. Remis of Manhattan got married, he was outraged to discover his photographer missed a few key moments such as the last dance and the bouquet toss, so he decided to sue.
He doesn’t just want the $4,100 photography fee refunded, though. He also wants $48,000 to recreate the entire wedding, including travel costs to fly the bridal party back to New York so the whole thing can be re-shot by another photographer.
But wait, there’s more: Remis and his wife, who married in 2003, are now divorced. He doesn’t even know where she is, but she’s thought to have returned to her native Latvia.
Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of State Supreme Court in Manhattan dismissed most of the grounds for the lawsuit but has allowed the case to proceed to determine whether there was indeed a breach of contract, saying, “Although the marriage did not last, plaintiff’s fury over the quality of the photographs and video continued on.”
Mr. Remis, who has been unemployed since 2008, testified that he wanted photographs of the wedding, even if it ended in divorce. “It was unfortunate in its circumstances,” he said, “but we are very much happy with the wedding event and we would like to have it documented for eternity, for us and our families.”
Dan Fried, owner of H & H Photographers, said that the costs of defending the lawsuit had already matched the amount sought by Mr. Remis and that it was hurting his business’s bottom line. He called the case “an abuse of the legal system.”