Q. A few months ago I asked a friend to purchase plane tickets for me to Indianapolis to watch the Super Bowl. I meanwhile had purchased tickets to the actual game. I just found out that he actually did not buy the plane tickets! I am so [upset]!! Can I sue him for the lost tickets and pain and suffering?
I definitely need some more information to provide a proper assessment, but let’s work with what we have.
The first question I need to understand is when you say you had a friend purchase plane tickets, is your friend acknowledging this or denying it?
If he is acknowledging undertaking to buy the tickets, then the obvious question is why didn’t he? Does he have a legitimate explanation? For instance, was it simply a case of not being able to book the tickets on the dates you requested? After all, the Super Bowl is a popular event, and I can imagine that plane tickets would have been reserved long in advance.
Of course, the question then would be if your friend told you in advance that he was unable to purchase the tickets. If so, then I believe he would be found to have acted reasonably in the circumstances. Assuming he did not, then it would be a question of how far your friend’s responsibility to you extends. This may or may not depend on whether or not he was doing it as a favour for you or if you were paying him for the service.
Now, if your friend is denying that you asked him to purchase the tickets, you would have the burden of proving that you did. This can possibly be accomplished by emails, or text messages, or even Facebook posts or tweets. Alternatively, you can take the old fashioned way of having witnesses or even a signed agreement if you had paid him for the service.
If, however, all you have is your word against his, you may have difficulty providing your case unless you are supremely more credible as a witness than your friend. This is because if your friend is not a travel agent to begin with, which I am assuming, then a judge may be very hesitant to impose an obligation on a layperson to have purchased plane tickets for another.
Assuming you get past these first hurdles discussed above, then the next question is whether or not you could have mitigated, or lessened, your damages.
Your first obligation upon hearing that your friend did not get the plane tickets would be to see if you can purchase the tickets on your own, even at a higher price. Let’s take the following simple example: Say the Super Bowl tickets cost you $2,000 and you had agreed for your friend to purchase the plane ticket at a cost of $500.
Now, if you can find another seat at the same price, then you have no complaints against your friend because you have mitigated your damages completely. (Yes, it is a hassle but in Small Claims Court little if any value is typically placed on “hassles” particularly because Small Claims Court in and of itself can be a huge hassle!) If you can only find another ticket for $1,000, you would still be expected to purchase it because at least you can still make it to the Super Bowl. In such case you can claim against your friend for the $500 extra cost of the ticket.
(Note, another form of mitigation is to sell the tickets unless you are forbidden from doing so by law.)
In terms of damages, you can certainly claim for any out-of-pocket expenses such as lost hotel reservation, car rental costs, etc. again subject to mitigation. You have asked about “pain and suffering” which is a very common question received from our Small Talk readers. In my experience, save for the more extreme cases, “pain and suffering” is rarely awarded by the Small Claims Court. This is because it is very difficult to put a value on such ambiguous damages, and judges prefer liquidated claims such as what you actually lost out-of-pocket. I am not saying it is impossible, and if you get a sports fan for a judge who appreciates just how big of an event the Super Bowl is to football fans, then he/she may be more sympathetic to you!
As always, there could be many other considerations, and each case depends on its particular facts. This column is not a substitute for obtaining quality specific advice for your case. Wishing you (and your football team) the best of luck!
Small Talk™ is a syndicated column representing questions submitted to Jordan Farkas at www.MrSmallClaimsCourt.ca. Small Talk™ pertains to the Ontario small claims court only. The answers are for general guidance and are not to be construed as legal advice. We recommend contacting a legal professional for specific legal advice.
Jordan Farkas is an expert Small Claims Court lawyer and assists individuals, businesses and law firms with their Small Claims Court disputes. Mr. Farkas is founder of www.MrSmallClaimsCourt.ca.
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