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Contracts/Unconscionability
From wikilawschool.net. Wiki Law School does not provide legal advice. For educational purposes only.
Unconscionability is a term of contract law used to describe an agreement that a court of law may find to be unenforceable because one party to the contract took advantage of its superior bargaining power to insert provisions that make the agreement overwhelmingly favor the interests of that party. The concept is established in Section 2-302 of the Uniform Commercial Code. There are several typical scenarios in which unconscionability is most frequently found:
- Where a party that typically engages in sophisticated business transactions inserts boilerplate language into a contract containing terms unlikely to be understood or appreciated by the average person. Such terms might include a disclaimer of warranties, or a provision extending liability for a newly purchased item to goods previously purchased from the same seller.
- Where a seller offers a contract of adhesion for the purchase of necessary goods (e.g. food, shelter, means of transportation).
- Where a seller is vastly inflating the price of goods, particularly where this inflation is conducted in a way that conceals from the buyer the total cost for which the buyer will be liable.
