... had the same experience some years back, I fortunately had a buddy who was an lawyer. We go to small claims hearing, the dude had an off the wall story/excuse and no lawyer. My buddy chewed him up and spit him out - he was ordered to pay all costs plus the fee he owed.

Too true Torch. Laws nowadays protect perpetrators rather than victims.

I am talking over 30 years ago,

I suppose I am spiritually flawed, but my joy would have already gone down the crapper. Furthermore, it would not abate knowing I did nothing. I am not talking about hate or revenge, just calling this person on an intentional wrongdoing. My pride and dignity has to account for something.

Happened to me once. After the check was returned, I went to the restaurant, got my equipment and took a lamp, TV and a few other things in front of customers. Then, told everyone in the business what a jerk the guy was.

Not too bad for 60 plus years on the bandstand.

Had another club owner mess with my B-3. Kept leaving the thing on with the leslie brake engaged. The leslie froze up. I pulled him off the bench when I caught him, beat the crap out of him and sued him for repairs and loss of income.Got a judgement, but he never paid it, and filed bankruptcy.

That was years ago...not advised today.

But, man, it felt good.


Russ

In Arkansas we have a bad check office that's part of the Sheriffs office. I would call the local Sheriff and see if he can help. Costs nothing. Surprising when the deputy shows up with arrest papers how fast you get paid. The crime here is called forgery.

ALMOST happened once ... Another band leader called us late in the week and asked if we could cover a wedding for him on a Sunday - he had double-booked - ... so we played the wedding, telling the bride and groom that so and so was ill ... everyone had a great time, and we were hired for overtime ... and the end of the gig, the bride's father came to pay us, told us that we were great, but he was going to pay for the overtime because he hired us for that, but was not paying us for the first 4 hours because HE did not hire us for that, the other bandleader did ... next morning I called the other band leader and he said "of course" he would send us the money ... he was taking the bride's father to small claims court when they settled ...

DID happen once - when we were first starting out and 'hurting for gigs' ... a certain organization told us if we played this one dance for free, we could "name our price" the next time - of course there was NO next time !!! ...

Yup they protect the perps alright. I have no facts but I believe this is some of the reason last night another NYC police officer committed suicide.........that’s number 9 this year.

"DID happen once - when we were first starting out and 'hurting for gigs' ... a certain organization told us if we played this one dance for free, we could "name our price" the next time - of course there was NO next time !!! ..."

That happens a lot. It's one of the oldest scams around. Free audition.
I've had a couple of checks from owners bounce, but took them to them and they paid for them, including return charges, and they apologized. Of course they didn't do it on purpose.
I've been on the other side of the situation too. Never had a check bounce, but was often on a very tight budget where a small miscalculation could be trouble.
Some years ago, a friend asked me to work a small club with him and I agreed.
We set up and before the first set was over a fight broke out. After everything settled down, we started playing again and a few minutes later another fight broke out.
I just stood up and started packing my gear. Without a word, my friend did the same. We loaded up and he went back inside to see if we could get paid. He was gone about 15 minutes, and I was getting out of the vehicle to go see if he needed help when he came back out and told me that the guy needed persuading but finally agreed to pay us for the full night. My friend had a couple of skinned knuckles.
So thankful I don't have to do those type of jobs anymore!
Early in my career, when the Union was strong, I had an owner break a contract. It was a 12 month contract that had six months left on it. I went to the Union and complained. They called the owner in and he told them I was always late showing up and that he thought I was on drugs.
They called ME in and I told them that was bullshit and that I would be contacting my attorney to pursue a defamation of character suit.
The Union rep said he'd get back with me. After about a week, I found another job, but it was only a two-week contract. The Union then decided that since I was only out of work for a week that they would make the original guy pay me for the week!
My attorney DID send a letter to the owner and I got a full written apology from him. I enclosed a copy of the letter with my letter of resignation from the Union. That was 40 years ago. The amount of money I've saved over the years, not paying dues and work fees, has been maybe a thousand times what I was out from losing that job!
Footnote: A few years later, after I opened my own club, that original owner came in one night. The place was totally full of people. He came up and acted like I was his best friend. I told him he would have to leave because I was over capacity and didn't want to get in trouble. AHH, that was satisfying!
As is probably true with a lot of us, I could write a book.

Thanks everyone for your advice, kind words and stories. Yes, this was quite a disappointment to say the very least.... My poor wife singing and dancing five hours a night, my daughter took the time to learn a ton of new material, and I already paid the drummer for his services....

I went to speak to owner in person and she claims the bounced check was an honest mistake and says she will get it taken care of, and offered us a few good will gestures. She persuaded us to give her another chance, and we agreed. I told her as politely as possible that if the situation with check doesn’t get resolved, I will have to pursue legal means to resolve the matter. We’ll see.... Hoping for the best outcome.

I think the sad part is there’s people out there who think nothing of taking adavantage of others.

Hope it works out for you.