This Restatement clarifies how the classic principles of contract law in the Restatement of the Law Second, Contracts, have been applied by courts adjudicating consumer-contract disputes. Consumer contracts have presented a challenge for the law of contracts because the asymmetries in the parties’ information, sophistication, and incentives, coupled with the practice of standard-form contracting, create a risk of abuse by businesses, as it is neither rational nor feasible for most consumers to familiarize themselves with the terms of a given contract.

This Restatement restates the various techniques that courts have developed to police for abuse while still endorsing and enforcing standard-form contracts. The principles of fairness and anti-deception that guide regulatory consumer-protection law, to the extent they are consistent with the common law of contracts and the UCC, are also captured by the Restatement.