Florida Bride Denied $7,600 Refund After Fiancé’s Loss of life

[ad_1] by Keka Araújo January 20, 2026

In keeping with Florida regulation, she should still be on the hook for the cash.

Tye Hinson and William Coney’s love story started 20 years in the past at an Orlando shopping center. It was speculated to culminate this Might at a ballroom in Lake Mary. As a substitute, Hinson is navigating the aftermath of a deadly coronary heart assault that claimed her fiancé’s life at age 42, and a authorized stalemate with the venue meant to host their celebration.

Hinson is at the moment combating to get well $7,609 paid to the Crystal Ballroom in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando. The venue, citing a strictly enforced non-refundable contract, has declined the request.

“I known as them two days after he handed away to make them conscious,” Hinson mentioned. “This wasn’t like a cancellation. This was an individual dying.”

The couple, who met at Style Sq. Mall whereas Coney was a pupil at Full Sail College, chosen the all-inclusive area to accommodate their visitor checklist. Hinson made her ultimate fee simply forty-eight hours earlier than Coney’s sudden dying, shortly earlier than Thanksgiving.

In keeping with Hinson, a ballroom worker steered she use the $7,600 steadiness to host a memorial service on what would have been her wedding ceremony day—a suggestion Hinson discovered deeply distressing.

Lukasz Rogowski, the proprietor of Crystal Ballroom, expressed sympathy however stood agency on the corporate’s fiscal insurance policies. He famous that the contract explicitly discloses its non-refund coverage and encourages purchasers to buy third-party cancellation insurance coverage.

“Providing compassion and providing refunds should not the identical factor, and each should exist inside a framework that's truthful, clear, and constant for all purchasers,” Rogowski advised Information 6. He argued {that a} full-service venue incurs overhead and staffing prices months upfront, in contrast to particular person distributors who might have extra flexibility.

Hinson, a cosmetologist who handles make-up for weddings, says she understands contracts however believes excessive circumstances warrant exceptions. She famous that she as soon as issued a refund when a hurricane destroyed a consumer’s dwelling.

“My compassion as a human being carries over into my enterprise,” she mentioned.

Hinson says all her different wedding ceremony distributors—together with photographers and florists—refunded funds and voided contracts regardless of having related non-refundable clauses. Rogowski, nevertheless, maintains that the venue’s insurance policies defend the enterprise and its workers from the monetary volatility of life occasions.

Underneath Florida regulation, the dying of a celebration hardly ever serves as an computerized “kill change” for a contract. Underneath Florida regulation, dying typically doesn’t void an settlement until it’s for “private providers.” As a substitute, the deceased’s property usually steps in to deal with liabilities. Basic contract regulation holds that private representatives should fulfill non-personal duties, with property belongings dealing with the prices.

Whereas particular statutes like F.S. 489.121 govern building completion and F.S. 768.19 handles wrongful dying, probate legal guidelines like F.S. 733.104 affirm that contract claims typically survive the person. In essence, dying transfers contractual obligations to the property reasonably than terminating the settlement, leaving the settlement’s survival depending on particular phrases and the feasibility of efficiency.

The dispute has grown more and more tense as Hinson’s wedding ceremony planner, Patricia Aro, claims the venue has communicated extra readily with the media than with the grieving bride.

“We're involved to notice that the proprietor of Crystal Ballroom Lake Mary was in a position to reply promptly to Information 6 but has nonetheless not supplied any written or verbal response on to Tye’s cancellation discover or our workforce,” Aro mentioned.

To help Hinson, Aro launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign titled “Assist for Tye After Tragic Loss,” which highlights the monetary burden Hinson now faces.

“What was meant to be a season of celebration has develop into a time of unimaginable grief, heartbreak, and painful readjustment,” the marketing campaign states. “Whereas we perceive contracts and insurance policies exist, we imagine compassion and care ought to all the time cleared the path, particularly after such a tragic loss. We hope that Crystal Ballroom will select empathy and do the precise factor for somebody who has already misplaced a lot.”

The marketing campaign additionally clarifies that till the venue chooses to “do the precise factor,” the funds raised will assist help the bride as she awaits a compassionate response. On the time of publication, the marketing campaign has raised greater than $5,000.

Information 6 found Rogowski’s title among the many checklist of donors to that GoFundMe. The ballroom proprietor didn't publicize his $525 contribution till a reporter contacted him. Rogowski indicated that he made the donation in his private capability, not on behalf of Crystal Ballroom.

For Hinson, the $7,609 represents greater than only a misplaced funding; it's a painful reminder of a future that vanished straight away. She stays hopeful the venue will acknowledge that an individual’s dying will not be a mere cancellation, however a tragedy that requires a shift in the usual guidelines of enterprise.