An Invitation To Be Sued

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - If you accept an invitation and then don't show up, can you be sued?

The parents of 5-year-old Alex Nash, a preschooler in the UK, accepted a birthday party invitation on his behalf for a little girl in his class. But on the day of the party, Alex decided he'd rather go to his grandparents house, so he didn't show up. When he returned to school on Monday, there was an envelope with a bill for $25 for a no-show fee. After a heated discussion, the little girl's mother threatened to sue if Alex's parents didn't pay.

I'm sure that the girl and Alex are both mortified. But who is right? Can you be sued if you accept an invitation and then renege?

An invitation isn't a contract per se. Wherefore I shall agree to take you to Chuck E Cheese. But, even without a contract, you can still sue someone if he made a promise to you and you reasonably relied on that promise to your detriment "ok, I'll buy your Chuck E Cheese ticket and two slices of pizza."

If she bought the tickets because he said yes, she might be able to win. That said, there's no better way to ensure no one ever accepts an invitation from your kid - or invites her anywhere ever again - than by threatening to sue guests.

That said, if you accept an invitation, then go. There's no better way to make sure that your kids have bad manners than by modeling that behavior for them.