Hudson Valley Venue Didn’t Refund New York Couples During COVID Shutdown

A Hudson Valley venue has agreed to repay couples from the region $40,000.

On Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office recovered over $40,000 in refunds for New Yorkers who had their events canceled at the Falkirk Estate & Country Club in Orange County due to pandemic-related shutdowns.

The Falkirk Estate & Country Club is located on Smith Clove Road in Central Valley.

Couples alleged Falkirk refused to refund them their deposits when their weddings were canceled due to pandemic restrictions on large gatherings.

The venue has agreed to repay two couples $18,300 and provide additional refund payments for any other individuals who made deposits between June 26, 2020, and May 19, 2021, but were denied refunds.

Falkirk already returned $22,500 to two couples for their canceled weddings.

“Today's agreement returns joy and money to New Yorkers who were unfairly denied refunds for their canceled weddings,” James said. “Although the pandemic forced many couples to cancel their weddings, they shouldn’t have been left waiting at the altar for their refunds. This is a big day for couples who were not able to celebrate at Falkirk, and I encourage anyone who paid a deposit but was denied a refund for their canceled event to contact my office.”

The Office of the Attorney General received complaints from various couples that Falkirk refused to refund them their deposits although the venue canceled their weddings because of pandemic-related restrictions and shutdowns.

In a letter, Falkirk claimed that it used the deposits to fund the venue’s operations instead of earmarking it for the couples’ events.

Earlier this month, Attorney General James returned more than $1 million to thousands of theatergoers for canceled shows at the Westchester Broadway Theatre.

In July 2021, Attorney General James returned $427,000 to New Yorkers who paid deposits for events at Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle but had their events canceled.

Attorney General James says any other New Yorker who paid a deposit but were denied a refund for their canceled event should contact her office.

To submit a request for a refund, please contact Assistant Attorney General Cheryl Lee at (845) 485-3925.