Virginia Code 55.1-2109: Unconscionable agreement or term of contract.
A. The court, upon finding as a matter of law that a contract or contract clause was unconscionable at the time the contract was made, may (i) refuse to enforce the contract, (ii) enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or (iii) limit the application of any unconscionable clause in order to avoid an unconscionable result.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 55.1-2109
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
B. Whenever it is claimed, or appears to the court, that a contract or any contract clause is or may be unconscionable, the parties, in order to aid the court in making the determination, shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to:
1. The commercial setting of the negotiations;
2. Whether a party has knowingly taken advantage of the inability of the other party to reasonably protect his interests by reason of physical or mental infirmity, illiteracy, or inability to understand the language of the agreement or similar factors;
3. The effect and purpose of the contract or clause; and
4. If a sale, any gross disparity at the time of contracting between the amount charged for the cooperative interest and the value of the cooperative interest measured by the price at which similar cooperative interests were readily obtainable in similar transactions; however, a disparity between the contract price and the value of the cooperative interest measured by the price at which similar cooperative interests were readily obtainable in similar transactions does not, of itself, render the contract unconscionable.
1982, c. 277, § 55-434; 2019, c. 712.