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by rayiner 2956 days ago
> Contracts are supposed to be fair for both sides.

That's not really a prerequisite for contracts. Contracts will often reflect substantial negotiating leverage on one side versus the other (e.g. a contract for sale of a house where the seller just lost his job, or a contract for sale of stock where the seller really needs money due to an unforeseen emergency). That's not a reason not to enforce them.

1 comments

AFAIK there are limits to that. Certainly, contracts are required to be reciprocal. That is, one cannot write a contract that states A gives stuff to B, without requiring B to give some form of compensation. This is why things are sometimes sold for $1 rather than gifted.

I think there are also 'no contracts can be made under duress' clauses that limit how much one can use leverage to unbalance a deal. Not sure what kind of limits there are to that though.

That's called "consideration" and it's to prevent a contract where only one side is being obligated to do something.
Except the court has also ruled that simply keeping your job is sufficient "consideration".