Contracts Commons^™

Boilerplate: What Consumers Actually Think About It, Franklin G. Snyder, Ann M. Mirabito

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most difficult problems in modem contract law is the status of standard terms-often called "boilerplate"-in consumer transactions. On the one hand, standard terms are good because they reduce costs and increase efficiency and predictability. On the other hand, they can be used to impose unfair terms on consumers and even to evade important public policies. There is thus a vast and growing literature on the topic.

We know for a fact that most consumers do not read standard terms. They will not read them before they sign the writing or click "I agree" or "Buy now" on …

The Uniform Commercial Code Survey: Introduction, Jennifer S. Martin, Colin P. Marks, Wayne Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

The survey that follows highlights the most important developments of 2018 dealing with domestic and international sales of goods, personal property leases, payments, letters of credit, documents of title, investment securities, and secured transactions.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Online Reviews: The Trouble With Trolls And A Role For Contract Law After The Consumer Review Fairness Act, Wayne Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

The advent of the Internet has brought innumerable innovations to our lives. Among the innovations is the meteoric rise in the volume of e-commerce conducted on the Internet. Correspondingly, consumer-posted information about merchants, goods, and services has also begun to be a rich source of information for consumers researching a purchase online. This information takes many forms, but a major category is the narrative review describing the purchase and experience. Such reviews are posted on websites such as Yelp, Amazon and TripAdvisor, on apps, and on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The amount and volume of reviews has …