Law Commons^™

Revisiting The Battle Of The Forms: A Case Study Approach To Legal Strategy Development, Mary J. Shariff, Kevin Marechal De Charteret

Mary J. Shariff

The area of contract law described as the battle of the forms is a perfect example of an area of law where the legal rules and their application are complex, contradictory, and/or inconsistently applied. Indeed, the battle of the forms problem has been recognized as among the most “difficult problems for contract doctrine to resolve” and in some jurisdictions, has been described as “chaos” thus increasing opportunities for the strategic manipulation of the law. The classic battle of the forms typically arises when a buyer and seller exchange conflicting standard forms and commence performance of the contract. The parties appear …