A Texas wedding venue declined to refund nearly $16,000 to a bride-to-be after her fiancé died unexpectedly, suggesting instead that the payment could be applied to a future celebration.
The dispute began after 25-year-old Diego Hernandez died suddenly in April, just seven months before he was scheduled to marry his fiancée at Posey Meadows, a rural venue near San Marcos, southwest of Austin.
Instead of returning the $15,909.28 the couple had paid, the venue initially proposed moving the booking to another date or using the funds for a different event.
When Hernandez’s family pressed for a refund, the disagreement turned into a bitter legal dispute. The venue ultimately filed a countersuit against the grieving woman whose wedding plans had been destroyed by the tragedy.
Posey Meadows has since abandoned its counterclaim and agreed to return the full amount, but only after the case attracted widespread negative attention.
The reversal followed public criticism from Hernandez’s mother, Lucy Hernandez, who denounced the venue’s response to the family’s loss.
‘Where are their morals? Where are their moral principles?’ she asked KSAT.
‘We don’t have a fight in us. We don’t. We’re emotionally drained. This is just weighing heavily.’
Hernandez and his fiancée had planned to marry on November 20 at Posey Meadows, a wedding venue surrounded by the rolling landscape of Hays County.
Diego Hernandez is shown proposing to his fiancée before his sudden death at age 25. The couple had planned a November wedding, but their future together ended in tragedy
Diego Hernandez, 25, died unexpectedly in April, seven months before his wedding. His grieving fiancée was then drawn into a legal dispute over nearly $16,000 paid for the ceremony
Their wedding plans collapsed after Hernandez died in late April, leaving his fiancée grieving the man she had expected to spend the rest of her life with.
His family notified the venue that the ceremony could not go ahead and asked for the substantial payment already made to be returned.
Instead, venue owner Julie Campbell presented the family with several alternatives rather than issuing an immediate refund.
The booking could be transferred to a later date, Campbell said, or the payment could be converted into credit for another type of gathering.
Campbell also suggested that part of the money might be returned if Posey Meadows found another customer to book the couple’s original wedding date.
To Hernandez’s grieving relatives, the proposals brought additional stress rather than relief at an already devastating time.
His mother said she had believed the matter would be settled quickly through a simple phone call.
‘I’m very surprised,’ she told KSAT. ‘I honestly felt that it wasn’t going to go past a phone call.’
Posey Meadows, a scenic wedding venue near San Marcos, Texas, initially declined to refund the couple’s $15,909.28 payment
Diego’s heartbroken mother, Lucy Hernandez, spoke out against the venue’s handling of the dispute, questioning its ‘morals’ and ‘moral principles’
Instead, she described a particularly distressing exchange with Campbell in early May, shortly before she was due to see her son’s body for the final time.
According to Lucy, the discussion became heated and ended with Campbell telling her the wedding payments would not be returned.
The confrontation added another painful burden to a family already struggling with an unimaginable loss.
‘I’ve planned other funerals. I’ve lost my mom and my dad and a brother, but planning a son’s funeral is very different,’ Lucy said. ‘It weighs very different.’
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By late June, the disagreement had become serious enough for an attorney representing Hernandez’s fiancée to send the venue a formal demand for repayment.
When that failed to resolve the dispute, the woman filed a lawsuit in Hays County district court in late July.
Her legal complaint accused Posey Meadows of securing an ‘unjust and ghoulish windfall built on a young man’s death.’
But the venue responded with legal action of its own.
Posey Meadows filed a counterclaim alleging that the bride-to-be had breached the wedding contract by seeking to recover the money already paid while refusing to hand over the remaining balance.
The contract stipulated that payments would be forfeited in the event of cancellation.
It did not contain any specific provision addressing what would happen if either member of the couple died before the wedding.
The venue also raised questions about whether Hernandez’s death had been adequately documented.
In its counterclaim, Posey Meadows alleged that the family had failed to supply proof of his passing.
The business initially suggested the money could be used toward a future booking or another event rather than refund the deposits which. had already been made
On Facebook many people appeared to have left negative reviews highlighting the story
The family say they offered to provide a death certificate before litigation began but received no response from the venue’s legal representatives.
As the controversy attracted mounting attention, Posey Meadows insisted it had been attempting to resolve the situation compassionately.
In an October 16 statement, the business said it had previously granted full refunds to families facing similar tragedies, regardless of the terms of their contracts.
‘Our company was heartbroken to learn of a private and tragic situation involving a couple scheduled to be married at our wedding venue,’ it said.
The business maintained that it was already working toward a refund when the lawsuit arrived, adding that litigation had complicated the process.
On Wednesday, an attorney for the bride-to-be confirmed that she would be receiving a full refund.
In a lengthy statement, Posey Meadows defended its handling of the dispute, saying it had sought official confirmation of Hernandez’s death before making an exception to its cancellation policy.
‘Our thoughts continue to be with Diego’s family and loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences,’ the venue said.
It claimed the family had been asked for a death certificate in early May but that the document did not arrive until mid-August, after legal proceedings had begun.
While waiting, the business said it had searched for an obituary, funeral announcement or other publicly available confirmation of his death.
‘Our efforts were never meant to diminish the family’s loss,’ the statement continued.
‘We regret that the litigation process has complicated what we hoped would be a speedy and compassionate resolution.’
The venue also confirmed it was no longer seeking additional money from the grieving woman.
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