A poorly educated and elderly person at home is approached by a door-to-door sal

Question

A poorly educated and elderly person at home is approached by a door-to-door sales representative who convinces the person to purchase a freezer that incompletely full of meat products for $3,000 on credit, at a 100 percent interest rate, with principal and interest to be paid in equal monthly installments over three years. The freezer is worth $400, and the meat is worth $300. This is an unconscionable contract. The court can rewrite the contract to reasonable terms--such as a price of $700 at 8 percent interest rate--or completely refuse to enforce the contract at all. Discussion Questions (Ethics and Substantive Law): What does the doctrine of unconscionability provide? Does the fact that the term unconscionable is somewhat vague serve any useful purpose? Does the doctrine of unconscionability encourage ethical behavior?

Explanation / Answer

What Is an Unconscionable Contract?

An unconscionable contract is one that is so one-sided that it is unfair to one party and therefore unenforceable under law. It is a type of contract that leaves one party with no real, meaningful choice, usually due to major differences in bargaining power between the parties.

In a lawsuit, if the court finds a contract to be unconscionable, they will typically declare the contract to be void. No damages award or specific performance will be issued, but instead the parties will be released from their contract obligations.

What Makes a Contract Unconscionable?

A contract may be found to be unconscionable based on three different factors:

Actually the term unconscionable is somewhat vague, the basic characteristic of most unconscionable contracts is that one party signed the contract under situations involving pressure, lack of information, or by being misled.

Unconscionable contracts can present many legal difficulties. You may wish to hire a contracts lawyer if you have any legal disputes or questions such as “What is an unconscionable contract?” An experienced contracts attorney can go over the laws in your area with you to help determine the extent of your claim. They can provide you with much-needed legal advice and will be able to represent you in court if a lawsuit is filed. Hence doctrine of unconscionability can be concluded as- it encourage ethical behavior

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.