If you work with contracts, it's just a matter of time before a contract with an "unreasonable" provision is sitting on your desk. Perhaps this happened because your company didn't have enough bargaining leverage to get the other party to change the unreasonable provision, but your senior management directed you to proceed anyway. Or maybe the unreasonable provision snuck in during the heat of contract negotiation and wasn't noticed until months later. In any event, you're thinking about going to court and arguing that the unreasonable provision should be disregarded (or even invalidate the contract). What are your chances? In Michigan, you'll have an uphill battle, as the plaintiffs found out in the case of Rory v Continental Insurance Company CNA that was decided by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2005 and, to my knowledge, is still good law. The contract at issue was an auto insurance policy issued by Continental to Rory. (Yes, an insurance polic...
Attorney Chadwick C. Busk's monthly blog/newsletter for business professionals, including information technology executives, with occasional asides to comment-worthy topics. These posts are intended to inform and entertain; I earn no revenue from them.