http://public.findlaw.com/newcontent...h9/st5/tl.html
A breach of contract - also called a default - is one party's failure, without a legally valid excuse, to live up to any of his or her responsibilities under a contract. A breach can occur by:
failure to perform as promised;
making it impossible for the other party to perform;
repudiation of the contract (announcing an intent not to perform).
What qualifies as a failure to perform?
One party must not have performed a material part of the contract by a reasonable (or stated) deadline. Suppose your friend promised to buy your Yugo for $1,000, and to pay you "sometime early next week." It would be a material breach for your friend never to pay you, or to pay you six months later. If your friend paid you on Thursday of next week, however, it probably would not be a breach. You did not explicitly make time an essential part of the contract - the source of the phrase "time is of the essence."
Layaway laws set up for business, and how individuals conduct a contracts are two very different things. Even if this was considered layaway like a business would conduct, the 7 months of non-action from the purchaser, would negate any claim he might have for any type of refund. He did not perform as agreed. He did not make timely payments as agreed, nor did he request a refund in any timely manner.
Ron, you said you had to re-think your layaway pollicy? Are you referring as a business or and individual?