B. Extreme unfairness.
Listen to pronunciationLegal Definition - 1. Extreme unfairness. Unconscionability is normally assessed by an objective standard: (1) one party's lack of meaningful choice, and (2) contractural terms that unreasonably favor the other party. 2. The principle that a court may refuse to enforce a contract that is unfair or oppressive because of procedural abuses during contract formation or because of overreaching contractual terms. Because unconscionablility depends on circumstances at the time the contract is formed, a later rise in market price is irrelevant
Black's Law Dictionary® Eighth Edition © 2004
Note the different pronunciation in the adjective form.
Unconscionable (ən-kon-shə-nə-bil)
Listen to pronunciationLegal Definition - 1. (Of a person) having no conscience; unscrupulous <an unconscionable used-car salesman>. 2. (Of an act or transaction) showing no regard for conscience; affronting the sense of justice, decency or reasonableness <the contract is void as unconscionable>. Black's Law Dictionary® Eighth Edition © 2004
Recent Usage - "After a five-week trial and 14 hours of deliberation, a jury awarded $3 million on April 5 to John McDarby, 77, who suffered a heart attack in 2004 after four years of Vioxx use, and $1.5 million to his wife Irma. The jury found that Merck committed consumer fraud through unconscionable commercial practices when marketing Vioxx to physicians; that it made misrepresentations that could have been misleading; and that it intentionally omitted material information about a link between Vioxx and increased risk of cardiovascular injury." Jury Mulls Punitives Against Merck in Wake of $4.5M Vioxx Verdict
By Lisa Brennan
New Jersey Law Journal
04-11-2006