LAW AND EQUITY PRINCIPLES This essay summarizes

Definitions. Law is a system of constraints on the behavior of individuals and groups in society which is sanctioned and enforced by the state. Justice might be defined as that system of law which satisfies most people's sense of fairness. Black's Law Dictionary uses in part a definition of law which is close to the above: "that which must be obeyed and followed by citizens, subject to sanctions or legal consequences" and "the constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due" (at 1028 and 1002, 4th ed. (1951)). It can be readily be seen from these definitions that it is much easier to define the law than justice. Legal realists like the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes have said that the law is simply what the courts say it is, but his formulation begs the question of what it ought to be. Most legal scholars ag

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rt would intervene only under circumstances where the terms of the bargain were so outrageous as to 'shock the conscience.' Under sec. 2-302 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a court may as a matter of law find any commercial contract or part thereof void on grounds of unconscionability. The UCC does not define the term unconscionability but states that the court should afford the parties in case it is claimed an opportunity at a hearing to present evidence "as to its commercial setting, purpose and effect." The case law indicates that the determination as to unconscionability is to be made at the time of contracting. In their review of the case law under sec. 2-302, Hillman et al found that decisions finding unconscionability involve two types: serious deficiencies in the initial bargaining process or 'bargaining naughtiness,' and substantive gross unfairness. (Robert A. Hillman Julian B. McDonnell Steve H. Nickles, Common Law and Equity Under the Uniform Commercial Code 6-7 (1985). A good example of the former is Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co., 350 F.2d 445 (D.C. Cir. 1965). In that case, a corporate seller handed a printed form contract with a harsh and one-sided product return provision to an ill-educated person w
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Nevertheless Hoffer, Courts Chancery, Supreme Court, Commercial Code, Restatement Contracts, Wendell Holmes, Joseph Story, Gilded Age, DC Cir, Law Dictionary, promissory estoppel, common law, supreme court, dispute resolution, equity courts, real estate, hoffer supra, sec 90, law equity, re materials equity, bargaining power, uniform commercial code, edward re materials, american arbitration association, black's law dictionary,
Approximate Word count = 4551
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)