Posted by Elizabeth Gore-Jones
on 2 August 2023
The law around contracts will change on 9 November 2023 introducing large penalties of $50 million or more if you enter into a standard form contract which contains unfair contract terms.
Use the following checklist to determine if this could apply to your contracts:
1. Do you have the bargaining power relating to the transaction?
2. Have you made another contract in similar terms and if so how many?
3. Was the contract prepared by you before any discussion occurred between the parties?
4. Did you require the other party to accept or reject the terms in the form which you presented them?
5. Did you give the other party an effective opportunity to negotiate the terms of the contract?
6. Do the terms of the contract take into account the specific characteristics of the other party?
The court can take into account any matter it thinks fit but must take into account the above questions.
If any of these apply, then you should review your contracts to ensure they do not contain unfair contract terms.
In this series we will review the terms which may be considered to be unfair. You should seek legal advice about this matter.
