Law Commons^™

Toward A Fairer Model Of Consumer Assent To Standard Form Contracts: In Defense Of Restatement Subsection 211(3), Wayne R. Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

Standard-form contracts permeate our very existence, and now even include contracts we assent to online by way of “clickwrap” and “browsewrap” methods. Notwithstanding the ever-increasing presence and complexity of such standard-form contracts, both offline and online, the law of contracts in this area has remained fairly static since the 18th century and before. The only meaningful salve to this problem thus far has been the unconscionability doctrine, but that doctrine tends to be reserved for the harshest and severest terms. Therefore, a new tool is needed for courts to protect consumers’ interests in this area. Section 211(3) of the Restatement …

Rent Concessions And Illegal Contract Penalties In Texas, James P. George

Faculty Scholarship

Rent concessions-in theory a foregoing of money-ironically have become a new income source for Texas landlords. Although there is nothing wrong with discounting prices, there is something wrong with re-imposing that discount on a breaching tenant. The reimposed rent concession is a penalty that the landlord would not have collected in the routine performance of the contract and as a penalty, violates one of the oldest edicts in Anglo-American contract law.

This article arose from advice given and brief services rendered to clients in a landlord-tenant matter. Using the facts and documents from that dispute, this article reviews the history …