Stood Up On Prom Night

A teenager in Marleton, New Jersey who was invited to the prom, bought a new dress, had her makeup done, and got a manicure in anticipation of the big day that never came: her date called at the last minute to say he was sick—of her, as it turns out—he actually went to the prom with someone else. Her mother called the louse’s mother and threatened to sue if the boy didn’t pay for the unused dress and unseen makeup. Can you really sue if your prom date stands you up?

An invitation to a prom isn’t a contract per se—the invitation isn’t “I will take you if you buy a new dress” such that once you’ve bought the dress he’s obligated to take you to the prom. 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 “gee, I can’t wear this old thing—I better go buy a dress.” Still, the thing about high school is that the last thing you really want to advertise is how popular you aren’t. Your best bet is not to sue but to chalk this up to one of childhood’s painful memories and hold your head high when you return, resplendent, to the now fat, bald, ex prom date at you 10th year reunion.