Underneath All Are the Contracts
Ralph Nader explains the problem with standard form contracts and introduces faircontracts.org.
Latest News
BBC 4: Law In Action Program Features Terms of Service; didn’t read
BBC 4 Law In Action Program Features Terms of Service; didn’t readThe BBC is devoting a four-part series on terms of service for contracts noting that Paypal’s 50,000 word contract is longer than Hamlet, Shakespeare’s longest play (30,000 words). TOS;dr representatives are featured on the program. The relevant part starts at 16:45 minutes into…
Richmond Law Professor Jim Gibson: 25 Contracts, 7 hours, 74,849 words of Boilerplate to Read, on Average — to Buy a Computer
Feel like reading legal texts about as long as the first Harry Potter book to buy a computer? Can you spare a work day just to read the fine print? If not, consumer beware. Richmond Law Professor Jim Gibson has written an article in the Washington & Lee Law Review (70 Wash. & Lee L….
Fair Contracts Participates in the Contracts Prof Blog’s Online Symposium on Boilerplate
Boilerplate Symposium II: Theresa Amato on Remedies to the Problems Posed by Boilerplate. Read the post here on the Contracts Prof Blog, May 14, 2013. There will be about two weeks of posts on issues raised by Professor Margaret Jane Radin’s book, Boilerplate, The Fine Print, Vanishing Rights, and the Rule of Law.
The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013
The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 has been introduced: S. 878 and H.R. 1844. The bill would invalidate forced pre-dispute binding arbitration that prevents access to the courthouse by consumers, employees and others. The Fair Contracts Project at Citizen Works signed on to this letter from consumer groups. Senate Sponsor Al Franken’s (Minnesota) summary of what…
Senator Franken and Colleagues Send Letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White to Demand Ban of Forced Arbitration to Protect Investor Rights
Senator Franken and Colleagues Send Letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White to Demand Ban of Forced Arbitration to Protect Investor Rights See Franken’s Press Release which contains a copy of the letter/signatories and the WSJ report. The letter includes these paragraphs: “If arbitration offers investors an efficient forum to resolve disputes, as some argue,…
Professor Margaret Jane Radin on “How clicking on ‘I accept terms and conditions’ threatens democracy”
Professor Margaret Jane Radin on Boilerplate: How clicking on “I accept terms and conditions” threatens democracy Listen to the Sunday, April 14 interview here with the CBC Radio Canada here: http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2013/04/14/margaret-radin-on-boilerplate/
Using the Corporate Fine Print of Debit Card Contracts to Zing Public-Transit Riders (and, in turn, to generate non-fare revenue fees for cash-strapped government agencies)
Our guest post on the Public Citizen Consumer Law & Policy Blog about the CTA Ventra fare/debit card roll out can be found here. Fair Contracts made a FOIA request for the contract and the information to be presented to CTA riders.
Rick Perlstein at The Nation Magazine Writes About Our Fair Contracts Work
Rick Perlstein at The Nation Magazine Writes About Our Fair Contracts Work See Small Print, Big Problem (Part 1: Diagnosis) here and Small Print, Big Problem (Part 2: Remedies) here. The PDF of both is posted with permission here.
Meet Frog Hog
THE FROG HOG’S TOP FIVE PROVISIONS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN BOILERPLATE CONTRACTS 1) There goes the Judge! Don’t let the fine print lock you out of the courtroom because it forces you into arbitration instead – often in places far away from where you live or work! 2) There goes the Class! Don’t let…