Appeal court leaves dance gig dispute ruling in force

The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has refused to hear a case that leaves Lappeenranta dance venue entrepreneur Jari Papinniemi facing nearly 20,000 euros in costs over a cancelled band performance, Yle reported.

The South Karelia District Court ordered Papinniemi to pay the dance orchestra’s 620 euro performance fee and more than 13,000 euros in legal costs. Including his own legal expenses, the entrepreneur’s total costs will rise to about 19,000 euros.

The dispute over the performance fee had continued for years. According to the Musicians’ Union, it is unusual for a dispute of this kind in the events industry to reach such advanced stages in the courts.

Papinniemi had applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to continue the case. He asked either for the district court’s ruling to be overturned or for his legal costs to be reduced to 2,500 euros. He also sought compensation from the band for his legal expenses.

The Court of Appeal found that the case did not meet the criteria for granting permission to proceed. The district court’s ruling therefore remains in force.

Papinniemi and the three-member band agreed by telephone in October 2021 on a performance at Jänhiälä dance pavilion, a traditional dance venue in Lappeenranta’s Joutseno district, in June 2022. The agreed fee was 620 euros.

After the call, the band emailed Papinniemi a confirmation of the arrangement, outlining the basic details discussed by phone. Papinniemi never replied to the email.

Papinniemi said he considered the call only a preliminary inquiry, of the kind he received frequently and which did not always lead to an agreement. He cancelled the performance in April 2022, but the band refused to accept the cancellation without compensation and took the matter to court.

The district court found that the performance arrangement was binding on Papinniemi.

Papinniemi first heard about the Court of Appeal’s decision when Yle contacted him on Thursday. He said he considered the ruling unfortunate. He can still appeal to the Supreme Court if it grants permission, but he did not immediately assess his chances of taking the case further.