Uber v. Heller and Unconscionability
Introduction: An Old Tale In the early days of the 20th Century, two ships, the Port Caledonia and the Anna , were sheltering from a storm in Holyhead Harbour in Wales, when the Port Caledonia came free of its berth and began drifting toward the Anna . The master of the Port Caledonia called for a tug, but was quoted an exorbitant fee, " £1,000 or no rope". After protesting, he agreed to pay the fee out of desperation - but the courts later reduced the fee by 80%, because the original bargain was so inequitable, so unjust, and so unreasonable that it could not be allowed to stand. In general, Canadian courts respect freedom of contract. However, there are a variety of circumstances, which are traditionally quite narrow, in which they will decline to enforce the terms of an agreement between parties. On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller , which will have significant ramifications in the law of unconscion