Tilden Rent-A-Car Co. v. Clendenning (1978), 83 DLR (3d) 400 is a leading Canadian contract law decision from the Court of Appeal for Ontario on standard form contracts. The Court held that a party can only be bound to a signed standard form contract when it is reasonable to believe that they consented to the terms. [1]
Canadian contract law has its foundation in the English legal tradition of the 19th and early 20th century. It remains largely rooted in the old English common law and equity. Individual provinces have codified many of the principles in a Sale of Goods Act, which was also modelled on early English versions. Quebec, being a civil law jurisdiction, does not have contract law, but rather has its own law of obligations that is codified in the Quebec Civil Code.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario is an appellate court in Ontario that is based at historic Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto.
A standard form contract is a contract between two parties, where the terms and conditions of the contract are set by one of the parties, and the other party has little or no ability to negotiate more favorable terms and is thus placed in a "take it or leave it" position.
Clendenning rented a car from Tilden Rent-A-Car, a Canadian car rental company. He signed the rental agreement which contained an exclusion clause denying coverage for accidents that occur if the driver had consumed any alcohol. Later, Clendenning hit a pole after having consumed alcohol. He pleaded guilty to impaired driving and tried to collect from the insurance policy to pay for the damages of his accident.
Tilden Rent-a-Car, later known as Tilden InterRent, was a Canadian car rental company that was founded by Sam Tilden. Its fleet was sold by the Tilden family to National Car Rental of the United States in June 1996.
An exclusion clause is a term in a contract that seeks to restrict the rights of the parties to the contract.
Justice Charles Dubin, for the court, held that Clendenning could collect from the insurance. Dubin observed that:
Charles Leonard Dubin, was a Canadian lawyer and former Chief Justice of Ontario. He is best known for leading the Dubin Inquiry into the use of steroids by athletes.
In modern commercial practice, many standard form printed documents are signed without being read or understood. In many cases the parties seeking to rely upon the terms of the contract know or ought to know that the signature of a party to the contract does not represent the true intention of the signer, and that the party signing is unaware of the stringent and onerous provisions which the standard form contains. Under such circumstances, I am of the opinion that the party seeking to rely on such terms should not be able to do so in the absence of first having taken reasonable measures to draw such terms to the attention of the other party, and, in the absence of such reasonable measures, it is not necessary for the party denying knowledge of such terms to prove either fraud, misrepresentation or non est factum. [2]
Normally, a customer would have time to consider the whole agreement. But in this particular situation, renters are typically in a rush and do not normally have a chance to read the terms of the agreement. The judge observed that the rental system is designed to be speedy and, therefore, lengthy and onerous terms cannot assumed to be assented to.
Indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (indemnifier) to compensate the loss occurred to the other party due to the act of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemnify is usually, but not always, coextensive with the contractual duty to "hold harmless" or "save harmless". In contrast, a guarantee is an obligation of one party assuring the other party that guarantor will perform the promise of the third party if it defaults.
Estoppel is a judicial device in common law legal systems whereby a court may prevent, or "estop" a person from making assertions or from going back on his or her word; the person being sanctioned is "estopped". Estoppel may prevent someone from bringing a particular claim, particularly if a promise unsupported by consideration is being relied on by the other party. Legal doctrines of estoppel are based in both common law and equity.
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant. When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner. The term landlady may be used for women owners, and lessor may be used regardless of gender identity. The manager of a UK pub, strictly speaking a licensed victualler, is referred to as the landlord.
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment is also leased.
An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty on new items. The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Extended warranties cost extra and for a percentage of the item's retail price. Occasionally, some extended warranties that are purchased for multiple years state in writing that during the first year, the consumer must still deal with the manufacturer in the occurrence of malfunction. Thus, what is often promoted as a five-year extended guarantee, for example, is actually only a four-year guarantee.
A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.
A rental agreement is a contract, usually written, between the owner of a property and a renter who desires to have temporary possession of the property as distinguished from a lease which is more typically for a fixed term. As a minimum, the agreement identifies the parties, the property, the term of the rental, and the amount of rent for the term. The owner of the property may be referred to as the lessor and the renter as the lessee.
Damage waiver or, as it is often referred to, collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW), is optional damage insurance coverage that is available to you when you rent a car.
A car rental, hire car, or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organised with numerous local branches, and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.
L'Estrange v F Graucob Ltd [1934] 2 KB 394 is a leading English contract law case on the incorporation of terms into a contract by signature. There are exceptions to the rule that a person is bound by his or her signature, including fraud, misrepresentation and non est factum.
In insurance claims, a total loss or write-off is a situation where the lost value, repair cost or salvage cost of a damaged property exceeds its insured value.
English contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth, and to a lesser extent the United States. It is also experiencing gradual change because of the UK's membership of the European Union and international organisations like Unidroit. Any agreement that is enforceable in court is a contract. Because a contract is a voluntary obligation, in contrast to paying compensation for a tort and restitution to reverse unjust enrichment, English law places a high value on ensuring people have truly consented to the deals that bind them in court.
A contract is a legally-binding agreement which recognises and governs the rights and duties of the parties to the agreement. A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law. An agreement typically involves the exchange of goods, services, money, or promises of any of those. In the event of breach of contract, the law awards the injured party access to legal remedies such as damages and cancellation.
Peer-to-peer carsharing is the process whereby existing car owners make their vehicles available for others to rent for short periods of time.
The South African law of lease is an area of the legal system in South Africa which describes the rules applicable to a contract of lease. This is broadly defined as a reciprocal agreement between two parties, the lessor and the lessee, in terms of which one, the lessor, binds himself to give the other, the lessee, the temporary use and enjoyment of a thing, in whole or in part, or of his services or those of another person; the lessee, meanwhile, binds himself to pay a sum of money as compensation, or rent, for that use and enjoyment. The law of lease is often discussed as a counterpart to the law of sale.
Insurance in South Africa describes a mechanism in that country for the reduction or minimisation of loss, owing to the constant exposure of people and assets to risks. The kinds of loss which arise if such risks eventuate may be either patrimonial or non-patrimonial.
Byrd v. United States, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held drivers of rental cars have rights protecting them from unconstitutional searches by police, even if they are not listed on the rental agreement.