Adhesion contract definition

An adhesion contract, also called a take-it-or-leave-it contract, is a contract drafted unilaterally by a party and forced upon an unwilling and possibly unknowing public for services that cannot readily be obtained elsewhere. An adhesion contract is imposed and not bargained for.

Adhesion contracts are actually quite common. For example, an insurance policy may be an adhesion contract, as is a loan document provided to consumers by a bank or other lender. Other examples include boilerplate purchasing agreements or end user license agreements that may often only be read after the purchase. Unfortunately, such contracts may have fine print or terms that are unfavorable to consumers.

The courts have allowed consumer to challenge certain adhesion terms on the basis of ambiguity or unreasonable.