Thursday, August 6, 2009

Shame, Shame, Shame: Event Galleria

Shame, Shame, Shame: Event Galleria

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4 comments:

  1. Hi my name is Breanne...my email is elisebre@yahoo.com
    My wedding was July 21 2006... and i still have NO album. From what I have heard there is a class action suit against him...I would love info!

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  2. Hi--my name is Lea and my complaint with Jim De Rosa is that as a vendor, I haven't been paid for the work I did for a recent wedding gig of Jim's. I'm a violinist who subcontracted to play for a wedding reception gig of Jim's in Livingston on July 4, 2009. I got the call just a few days before and even at the last minute, I was able to find a cellist to complete the trio ensemble. It's not just me--I need to pay the cellist, too.
    Until I read this blog, I had no idea that so many people also had complaints. I'm tired of leaving phone messages and will be going to small claims court in the next week. But I would definitely want to be included in any class action suit. Please keep me posted. Contact me at: fourellemusic@gmail.com. Thanks!

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  3. Ok, I feel I can now finally speak freely and let you in on what I have been working towards for the last several months. I have finally been awarded a small level of success.

    I sued both Jim DeRosa (Personally) and Jim and Noel Makowski and their company Noel Marie Photography in Small Claims Court for the full amount of $3,000 plus fees and won.

    The judge found that both were liable to make our album therefore, both should pay to have someone else make our wedding album.

    I had to go to court on two separate occasions to get this award. The first time, Jim DeRosa sent his attorney and attempted to get the court date pushed forward. We objected and his lawyer was forced to go through the court process that day. Jim and Noel Makowski were present and very upset that we took them to court. Although, we did not feel that they were totally liable for our album, we wanted to make sure that all parties were present so DeRosa couldn’t pass the buck onto Noel Marie Photography and would have to come back.

    As you may or may not know Jim and Noel Makowski (Noel Marie Photography) signed a contract (asset agreement) with DeRosa to create our album and many of yours. Although Jim & Noel claim that DeRosa never paid them to create any albums (which I do believe) the judge stated that they were still contractually obligated to create our albums and then they must sue DeRosa to get compensated for their efforts.

    The first judge we saw gave Jim and Noel Makowski two options. Because they signed a contract with DeRosa the judge found them guilty and obligated to either pay us to have our album made by someone else or the opportunity to make our album themselves. I felt bad for their situation so I agreed to have them make our album. They were supposed to have our album made before the next court date which was Jan. 7th 2010. After we walked out of court that day Jim Makowski shook my hand and promised to make my wife happy by creating a beautiful wedding album. They never made the album.

    If felt like I was dealing with DeRosa all over again. Jim Makowski did not take my calls or respond to my emails and when I finally did get him on the phone he verbally attacked me and stated that I should have gone after DeRosa and he and Noel shouldn’t be liable to make our album. So I told him I would see him in court on Jan. 7th, 2010 and let the judge deal with him.

    When the second court date came around (Jan. 7th 2010) Jim and Noel sent an attorney in their place. Neither DeRosa, nor his attorney showed up. The judge found them both guilty to pay us the full amount of $3,000 plus fees so we can have another wedding photography create our album.

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  4. Here are the important documents you must bring to court to ensure you get your money back. Take Jim DeRosa to small claims court. You should sue him personally. Reason being is he, most likely, didn’t incorporate until after you signed a contract with him. This means he is person liable for reimbursing you to have another photographer pay to have your wedding album completed. Make sure you bring a document from the state of NJ that says when he was incorporated with you to court. Also, I would recommend including both Jim and Noel Makowski at Noel Marie Photography in the suit. They will most likely not pay you when he is supposed to. So, after you win your case, you should go down to the special claims division of the Morris County Court and Docket the Judgment. This will act a somewhat of a personal lien on their assets. Here are a few other things you need to bring with you to court… Your contract with Jim, Event Galleria. Checks, credit card statements or receipts that you paid Jim. If he did, in fact, charge your credit card without your authorization, It is credit card fraud and he can go to jail for that. Jim is going to say that he sold the business, but you have a contract with him so it shouldn’t be a problem. If, like in my case, the judge states that DeRosa’s contract with Noel Maria Photography hold weight, then you will have them in court as well. Stay persistent. Don’t let his attorney push back the court day and try for an extension. That is Jim’s move.
    File a complaint with the Office of Consumer Complaints (Division of Consumer Affairs) http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/ocp/ocpform2.htm They are the ones that can push for a class action lawsuit against Jim DeRosa. I haven’t heard from them in a while. Therefore, they are most likely backed up. But, as you can see by this newspaper article we can win. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/chester-b The judges at Morris County Courts are familiar with our cases. So are the people at the office of consumer Complaints. Ask for Linda Palma. She is a big shot over there and the main person handling our case. 973-504-6103 973-504-6103

    Don’t give up! We are getting close to getting our memories back. Tell everyone you know about your situation and what Jim DeRosa did to you. The more people that know that better chance that new people won’t get hurt by Jim DeRosa.

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