Download There is no question that there is definitely a mutual trust and valued respect between the employee and the employer when it comes to having to deal with each other, especially when making deals and transactions.
Theoretical issues[ edit ] There is much debate on a theoretical level whether, and to what extent, courts should enforce standard form contracts.
On one hand, they undeniably fulfill an important role of promoting economic efficiency. Standard form contracting reduces transaction costs substantially by precluding the need for buyers and sellers of goods and services to negotiate the many details of a sale contract each time the product is sold.
On the other hand, there is the potential for inefficient, and even unjust, terms to be accepted by signatories to these contracts. Such terms might be seen as unjust if they allow the seller to avoid all liability or unilaterally modify terms or terminate the contract.
They might be inefficient if they place the risk of a negative outcome, such as defective manufacturing, on the buyer who is not in the best position to take precautions. There are a number of reasons why such terms might be accepted: The prospect of a buyer finding any useful information from reading such terms is correspondingly low.
Coupled with the often large amount of time needed to read the terms, the expected payoff from reading the contract is low and few people would be expected to read it. Access to the full terms may be difficult or impossible before acceptance Often Starndard contracts document being signed is not the full contract; the purchaser is told that the rest of the terms are in another location.
This reduces the likelihood of the terms being read and in some situations, such as software license agreementscan only be read after they have been notionally accepted by purchasing the good and opening the box.
These contracts are typically not enforced, since common law dictates that all terms of a contract must be disclosed before the contract is executed. Boilerplate terms are not salient The most important terms to purchasers of a good are generally the price and the quality, which are generally understood before the contract of adhesion is signed.
Terms relating to events which have very small probabilities of occurring or which refer to particular statutes or legal rules do not seem important to the purchaser.
This further lowers the chance of such terms being read and also means they are likely to be ignored even if they are read.
There may be social pressure to sign Standard form contracts are signed at a point when the main details of the transaction have either been negotiated or explained. Social pressure to conclude the bargain at that point may come from a number of sources. The salesperson may imply that the purchaser is being unreasonable if they read or question the terms, saying that they are "just something the lawyers want us to do" or that they are wasting their time reading them.
If the purchaser is at the front of a queue for example at an airport car rental desk there is additional pressure to sign quickly.
Finally, if there has been negotiation over price or particular details, then concessions given by the salesperson may be seen as a gift which socially obliges the purchaser to respond by being co-operative and concluding the transaction.
Standard form contracts may exploit unequal power relations If the good which is being sold using a contract of adhesion is one which is essential or very important for the purchaser to buy such as a rental property or a needed medical item then the purchaser might feel they have no choice but to accept the terms.
This problem may be mitigated if there are many suppliers of the good who can potentially offer different terms see belowalthough even this is not always possible for instance, a college freshman may be required to sign a standard-form dormitory rental agreement and accept its terms, because the college will not allow a freshman to live off-campus.
Some contend that in a competitive market, consumers have the ability to shop around for the supplier who offers them the most favorable terms and are consequently able to avoid injustice. However, in the case of credit cards and other oligopoliesfor example, the consumer while having the ability to shop around may still have access to only form contracts with like terms and no opportunity for negotiation.
Also, as noted, many people do not read or understand the terms so there might be very little incentive for a firm to offer favorable conditions as they would gain only a small amount of business from doing so. Sometimes the contracts are written by an industry body and distributed to firms in that industry, increasing homogeneity of the contracts and reducing consumer's ability to shop around.
Common law status[ edit ] As a general rule, the common law treats standard form contracts like any other contract. Signature or some other objective manifestation of intent to be legally bound will bind the signor to the contract whether or not they read or understood the terms.
The reality of standard form contracting, however, means that many common law jurisdictions have developed special rules with respect to them. In general, in the event of an ambiguity, the courts will interpret standard form contracts contra proferentem against the party that drafted the contract, as that party and only that party had the ability to draft the contract to remove ambiguity.
Generally[ edit ] Standard form contracts are generally enforceable in the United States. The Uniform Commercial Code which is followed in most American states has specific provisions relating to standard form contracts for the sale or lease of goods. Furthermore, standard form contracts will be subject to special scrutiny if they are found to be contracts of adhesion.standard form contract a contract that is not specially set out for the transaction in question but is drawn up in advance and applied to numerous transactions.
Such contracts are. Standard form contracts specify the terms and conditions upon which a retailer will supply electricity to its customers. These terms and conditions form a “safety net” for small use electricity customers.
Contract Standards is a platform to build and manage dynamic contract templates. Lone Star College was founded in and offers Associate Degrees, Workforce Certificates and Transfer Credits.
Theoretical issues Standard form contracts are rarely read. Access to the full terms may be difficult or impossible before acceptance. Boilerplate terms are not salient.
There may be social pressure to sign. Standard form contracts may exploit unequal power relations. sample contract templates you can view, download and print for benjaminpohle.com are contracts and agreements for many home and business arrangements, including home maintenance services, modeling and photography contracts, rental contracts, event contacts and more.