Am I liable for the full amount of event fees if I cancelled before the event date and no agreement was signed

In most states an oral contract is just as valid as a written contract in most circumstances; it is just harder to prove what the agreed-upon terms were if there is a disagreement. If one side cancels the contract, then the other side has the right to collect any money that was agreed would be paid in the event of a cancellation. If nothing was written down on what the agreement was, then it will be very hard for either side to prove what terms were agreed upon. When a substantial amount of money is involved (often $500 or more), many states require the contract to be in writing or it is not enforceable at all (this is called the “statute of frauds” by many lawyers) unless the “innocent” side has partly performed their end of the bargain and then they might be able to recover the value of what they had done before learning of the other side cancelling the contract. In a consumer transaction or other special circumstances, you may even have the right to recover more than that and maybe even make them pay your attorney fees too. You need to talk to a local Business Law attorney who deals with this kind of case. Call your local attorney's Bar Association and ask for a referral to a Business Law attorney near you. But act quickly because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time to actually file a lawsuit in court or your rights expire (it's called the statute of limitations), so don't waste your time getting to a Business Law attorney and finding out what your rights are. If this answer was helpful, please check the box below.