Also known as: contrary to public policy · void for public policy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle that voids or renders unenforceable contractual provisions, delegations, trusts, waivers, or other legal arrangements when their enforcement would harm important societal interests or violate statutory commands.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Andrew Avery contracts with Atlas Ventures to provide on-site environmental monitoring using only its own certified team. Andrew attempts to delegate the monitoring to an overseas vendor whose methods raise data-security risks. The court refuses to enforce the delegation because it contravenes the public policy reflected in the contract's insistence on personal performance.
Arthur Abrams leases a depot bay to Artemis Logistics. The lease authorizes Arthur to immobilize the tenant's vehicles upon holdover. State law supplies a speedy judicial remedy but does not preserve self-help. The court declares the self-help clause void because it violates public policy.
Anita Ali signs a release before riding in Abigail Alvarez's experimental aircraft. The release purports to waive all claims for negligence. After a crash caused by the pilot's reckless maintenance, the court refuses to enforce the waiver because it contravenes public policy protecting against reckless conduct.
Audrey Ashton creates a trust directing the trustee to pay beneficiaries only if they commit certain regulatory violations. The court holds the trust invalid at creation because its purpose is contrary to public policy and not for the beneficiaries' lawful benefit.
Amber Alonzo mortgages property to Avalon Pharmaceuticals with a clause converting the mortgage into an absolute deed upon any default. The court voids the clause because it unreasonably restricts the mortgagor's right to redeem and therefore violates public policy.
Astra Aerospace's three founders sign a unanimous written agreement reallocating major financing decisions to shareholders. A later investor challenges the pact. The court upholds the agreement because it satisfies statutory formalities and does not contravene public policy.
A delegation is unenforceable when the contract expressly requires personal performance by the original obligor or when the substitution would undermine a substantial interest of the obligee that the law protects.
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When state law supplies a speedy judicial remedy for recovering possession from holdover tenants but does not preserve self-help, any contractual authorization of self-help is treated as contrary to public policy and unenforceable.
…Supreme Court held that a contract between a man and a woman who were living together without being married was invalid as against public policy because it was "made upon an immoral consideration." (138 Cal. at p. 215.) The court stated that "the law will not recognize or enforce contracts made in furtherance of illicit…
…any action for personal injuries. The Appellate Division reversed. It held that the disclaimer of liability was invalid as against public policy
…certainly not beyond the Court that rendered today's decision to hold that a donation to a single-sex college should be deemed contrary to public policy and therefore not deductible if the college discriminates on the basis of sex. See Note, The Independent Sector and the Tax Laws: Defining Charity in an Ideal Democracy, 64 S. Cal. L. Rev.…
…waivers [may be] substantively unconscionable inasmuch as they may operate effectively as exculpatory contract clauses that are contrary to public policy
…similarly. Daniel Jacob Shapira, the plaintiff, alleges that the condition upon his inheritance is unconstitutional, contrary to public policy
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An agreement by which a plaintiff accepts the risk of the defendant's negligent or reckless conduct is unenforceable when enforcement would violate public policy, such as when the conduct involves reckless disregard for safety.
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A trust is invalid if its purpose is unlawful, impossible to achieve, or contrary to public policy, or if the trust terms do not benefit the beneficiaries.
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Clogging occurs when a mortgage provision unreasonably restricts or waives the mortgagor's right to redeem the property before foreclosure. Such provisions are void because they undermine the fundamental public policy protecting the mortgagor's redemption right.
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A unanimous written shareholder agreement may reallocate powers provided it satisfies statutory formalities and does not contravene public policy. The agreement remains effective among the original parties and the corporation even if it departs from default governance rules.
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