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Dana and Grant Spoltore, both nurses, treated Covid-19 patients throughout the pandemic and said they knew they could not accommodate 238 guests and a group of 11 musicians at a reception wedding ceremony at a country club near Atlantic City, where they planned to tie the knot in October.
A general manager at the venue, Atlantic City Country Club, had promised in a July 31 email that they would be refunded the money they prepaid – minus their deposit – if the Covid-19 restrictions prevented the wedding and reception from taking place. as contracted. But the couple were not reimbursed for their $ 7,500.
Martell’s Waters Edge, a waterfront venue in Bayville where Joseph and Natalie Scarpitto planned to host their wedding and reception in June, won’t refund the over $ 10,000 they paid for their balance – even if the place could not provide the promised services. due to state restrictions that prohibited large gatherings indoors, the couple said.
Martell’s Waters Edge declined to comment and Atlantic City Country Club did not respond to messages seeking comment.
These complaints are among dozens of complaints that New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal has received this year. The accounts prompted him to propose a bipartisan bill to protect people from what he describes as “bad actor dining rooms” who refused to refund deposits and other payments for events canceled due to the coronavirus.
Bill S2896 / A4658 would require companies to reimburse payments for events canceled due to the pandemic and cap the amount they could charge to reschedule events at maximum inflation rate. The measure has been referred to committee but has not yet been examined. Gopal said it was still meeting with stakeholders and reviewing legal hurdles before finalizing the bill. He plans to move it in January.
These complaints are not unique to New Jersey. Couples across the country have reported similar experiences. But New Jersey appears to be the first state to attempt to intervene. So far, these are the only bills proposed in the country specific to site reimbursement practices, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
New Jersey, which has some of the toughest consumer protection laws in the country, is among the five states that have seen the most deaths from the coronavirus. More than 16,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the state. All of the couples who spoke to NBC News said they didn’t think this should even be an issue at a time when millions of Americans are unemployed, threatened with eviction and facing food insecurity. But they believe that if left unchecked some businesses will benefit consumers.
In an interview on Monday, Gopal said some voters complained that he was charged $ 20,000 to postpone a wedding in 2020, which he deemed “shameful.” He said there was no justification for companies to keep deposits or charge such a large amount to reschedule events canceled due to Covid-19.
“There has to be skin in the game for everyone,” Gopal said. “Everyone has to lose a bit here.”
Many couples say they are the only ones to lose.
“We understand times are tough for everyone, but it’s just not fair to keep our money,” said Dana Spoltore, 28, who got married at a discounted outdoor wedding. in October. “It’s something we shouldn’t have to worry about on top of everything else.”
Joseph Scarpitto married Natalie in a small ceremony in his parents’ yard on June 13, the date of their original wedding. They said they felt pressured to postpone their reception until May 7, 2021 to avoid losing more than $ 10,000. Martells Waters Edge reimbursed them for the ceremony fees because they were already married.
“Covid-19 affects everyone, including businesses,” said Joseph Scarpitto, 31. “But we don’t think it’s fair to keep our money against our will.”
Some people did not wait for the law to pass and instead chose to continue.
Lawyer Corinne Maloney represents Michael Rothman, the father of a groom in a case against the Park Chateau in East Brunswick, where his son’s wedding and reception was scheduled to take place on June 13, and Michael Verzi, the father of a bride whose wedding and reception were scheduled for August 15 at the Park Savoy Estate in Florham Park with a minimum of 200 guests.
Coronavirus restrictions prevented both marriages from going as planned. The two establishments, as well as Nanina’s in the Park, a venue in Belleville, have the same owners and have adopted a very similar litigation strategy: delay and cause expense, says Maloney.
“A consumer will file a complaint and will immediately be struck by an expensive motion practice to dismiss the complaint,” Maloney said. “It really is simply designed to discourage consumers financially and emotionally from continuing with their actions.”
Premises said Maloney’s claim was “absolutely without merit and without merit”.
Lawyers for the scene have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuits against Verzi and Rothman. The motion to dismiss Rothman’s trial was dismissed. The motion to dismiss Verzi’s lawsuit is scheduled to be heard on January 8.
Maloney said some venues take advantage of people who have prepaid the full cost of a wedding or 50 to 70 percent of the cost.
“They’re really taking advantage of people and profiting from the pandemic,” Maloney said.
Rothman and Verzi both signed a contract for weddings on Saturday, the most expensive day of the week to host a wedding and reception. Rothman alleges that the venue is only offered on weekdays to postpone the wedding and reception. Verzi alleges that the venue has indicated that it will only offer weekdays, as the available weekend dates are reserved for new customers. Four weeks before the planned wedding, Verzi said the venue was offered on a Sunday afternoon in 2021. The lawsuits also allege that the venue refused to refund the plaintiffs’ funds. Among other claims, the plaintiffs both allege violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, which could entitle them to additional damages.
In a statement, the Park Chateau, the Park Savoy Estate and Nanina’s in the Park said each couple signed a contract stating that “if the marriage cannot take place legally due to COVID-19” it will be postponed to the next available date.
The sites said that “the pandemic and the resulting executive orders have shaken the wedding industry” and their clients’ special day.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we have honored our contracts and have worked tirelessly with our couples to reschedule nearly 550 weddings,” the venues said, adding that they had “provided many upgrades and improvements for them. events postponed due to the pandemic “.
“We remain committed to working with all of our couples to bring them the wedding of their dreams,” the statement concluded.
The locations said they had suffered “significant” financial losses and that from 2019 to 2020, weddings were down 70% at all three properties. During that week of 2019, they hosted 45 events across all three locations, compared to just one event this week.
Gopal is looking to cap the amount venues can charge to reschedule a wedding from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 and that venues be required to offer a comparable date.
Thomas Daidone, owner and operator of The Estate at Florentine Gardens in River Vale, does not support general restrictions on wedding venues because he said they do not all charge the same amount per person and that some people consider a date change fee is just a new pricing structure for a different year. He also said comparable dates sometimes could not be offered for postponed events because they are not available.
“All we want to do is work with people, but I can’t give you what I don’t have,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The cost per person at The Estate at Florentine Gardens for a Saturday night event averages $ 250 to $ 350.
“As we speak with customers and they remind us that it is not their fault, we also remind them that it is not our fault,” said Daidone, owner of the place for almost 33 years.
His place has also been sued by several people this year. Daidone said all of these lawsuits were ongoing and he was able to postpone 90% of events canceled due to the pandemic.
From March, when Gov. Phil Murphy ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down, until December, Daidone said he lost $ 8 million. He has not refunded any of his clients’ payments because he said his establishment’s contracts have for many years stipulated that all payments are non-refundable.
“If we had done what the customer wants us to do, all of the New Jersey establishments would have to file for bankruptcy,” he said.
Daidone doesn’t think most people realize that “sites have huge expenses,” including some that they have incurred to implement security protocols. He said he installed a $ 100,000 air cleaning system that “kills” viruses. He also needed more staff to clean and serve guests for events that have taken place since the restrictions were lifted.
When he introduced the bill over the summer, Gopal said it had prompted some sites to “back down” their policies.
“I have great sympathy for food halls and small businesses,” said Gopal. “And I think 95% of them are doing the right thing.”
“The problem is, we have delinquents there,” he said.
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