Category Archives: Unconscionability and Unfair Terms
Abraham Cable, ‘Stock Options of Adhesion’
ABSTRACT Many startup employees do not negotiate or seriously investigate their stock option agreements. On its face, this is concerning because stock options and other forms of equity compensation are considered a key part of the Silicon Valley system. Accordingly, scholars and regulators have called for fundamental reform of securities laws in the name of […]
Ana Kvantaliani, ‘Transactions Concluded Under Duress and Immoral Transactions: Comparative Analysis’
ABSTRACT The following article examines legal transactions concluded under the defect of declaration of intent, more precisely, the interrelation of transactions concluded under duress (Article 85 of the Civil Code) and immoral transactions (Article 85 of the Civil Code). Confusion between immoral agreements and duress in Georgian judicial practice is commonplace. Duress, as a socially […]
Sabrina El Sabi, ‘Platform Economy and Its Impact on Vulnerable Digital Consumers. Rethinking the effectiveness of UCTD’
ABSTRACT The rapid proliferation of digitisation processes has exponentially increased the number of international online transactions, including business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), platform-to-business (P2B) and platform-to-consumer (P2C) relationships. The unlimited economic potential of the Internet for commerce, enables the aggregation and globalisation of markets by offering new opportunities, while also requiring new forms of regulation of […]
‘Twitter’s New Liquidated Damages Clause’
We recently posted about Twitter’s venue clause in its latest Terms of Service (ToS), which went live on November 15th and can be found here. There is another aspect to the new ToS that has gained some notoriety. It is Twitter’s new liquidated damages provision, which provides as follows: ‘Liquidated Damages: Protecting our users’ data […]
‘Who is the average consumer? CJEU in Compass Banca (C-646/22)’
On the 14th of November, the CJEU published its long-awaited decision on Compass Banca (Case C-646/22; we have previously discussed it here). In this case, the CJEU, for the first time, elaborated on who the ‘average consumer’ is, especially in light of the persistent critiques from behaviouralists, and further clarified the assessment of and the […]
‘Hillbilly Equity: Woollums v Horsely as Mountain Melodrama’
When I began teaching contracts, I used the Dawson, Harvey, and Henderson Contracts casebook. As do many casebook authors, Dawson chose cases whose entertainment value enhanced their pedagogical effects. The defense of unconscionability was illustrated by Woollums v Horsley, 20 SW 781 (Ky App 1892), a masterpiece of the melodramatic genre of appellate opinion-writing. The […]
Duffy and Hynes, ‘Crisis Pricing’
ABSTRACT Extraordinary times beget extraordinary measures. Multiple national emergencies during the past quarter century have generated a pitched debate as to whether, and to what extent, a crisis justifies deviations from fundamental legal rules. That debate has often focused on constitutional law and has produced sharply divergent views. Some theorists advocate a ‘business-as-usual’ approach eschewing […]
Gomez-Pomar and Beldowski, ‘Consumer Mortgage Loan Agreements in Foreign Currencies – Does One Solution Fit all?’
ABSTRACT Consumer protection in contracts concluded with credit institutions has received considerable attention from the national courts of various European countries in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the matter peaked after the wake of the global crisis of 2008 when consumers struggled with loan repayments in general. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has […]
Michele Ciancimino, ‘Private Law and Consumer Protection Paradigms facing (Digital) “Addictions”: A Starting Point for Reflection’
ABSTRACT The increasing area of addictive design of digital services, often related to the ‘gamification’, or ‘gamblification’, of services has given law scholars cause for reflection. How could private law and consumer protection tame addictions that are linked to contractual agreements? The essay aims to introduce this issue in order to start a debate on […]
Kim and Fortnow, ‘Contract and Commercial Law Challenges with AI Products and Services’
ABSTRACT The development of AI promises to increase innovation and facilitate advancements in multiple fields. Yet, as companies rush products to market in a race for dominance in this highly competitive field, the potential for widespread social harm is foreseeable. In the absence of legislation, commercial law and tort law provide standards and remedies governing […]