Also known as: fair & reasonable · reasonable and fair
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard requiring that the terms of a transaction or allocation be equitable and justifiable to the affected party under the circumstances.
Finn Fletcher, a nonprofit director facing cash shortages, agreed to sell a donated building to his compliance lawyer Francesca Fiore for $165,000 based on a two-year-old appraisal she supplied. Fiore's written agreement listed the price and her interest but omitted recent comparable sales showing values near $200,000. The transaction failed the standard because the disclosure did not allow Fletcher to assess whether the price was equitable.
Fisher Foods faced a partial crop failure that limited its ability to fulfill all contracts for frozen vegetables. It allocated remaining stock pro rata among current contract buyers and its regular spot customers but excluded new buyers. The allocation satisfied the standard because it treated similarly situated customers equitably without favoring the seller's own manufacturing needs.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Frederick Ferguson sent one child to live with the mother in California while the second child remained with him in New York. California asserted jurisdiction over support for both children based on the single purposeful contact. The court rejected the claim because the contacts did not provide an equitable basis for imposing obligations regarding the second child.
Forrest Falconer challenged a state workers compensation statute that granted widows benefits automatically but required widowers to prove dependency. The statute failed the standard because it imposed an unequal evidentiary burden without justification tied to the parties' actual economic circumstances.
Frontier Capital held a mortgage on property whose owners could not pay during an economic emergency. A state statute extended the redemption period while requiring payment of fair rental value. The extension met the standard because it balanced the lender's security interest against the borrowers' temporary inability to perform.
Felicity French sought a divorce but could not afford the required court filing fee. The state denied a waiver and required prepayment. The denial violated the standard because it imposed a financial barrier that prevented access to the only available forum for dissolving the marriage.
The lawyer must transmit the essential terms and the lawyer's role in writing in a form the client can reasonably understand. The disclosure must include enough information for the client to evaluate whether the price or other terms are equitable given current market data.
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No. Even sophisticated clients must receive the required written disclosures, advice about independent counsel, and signed consent. Informal understandings or client expertise do not substitute for the formal writing requirements.
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The seller must limit participation to contract customers and regular customers and distribute the available supply pro rata or by another method that treats similarly situated buyers even-handedly without favoring the seller's own manufacturing needs.
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…labor in a bakery for more than a certain number of hours a week, is, in our judgment, so wholly beside the matter of a proper, reasonable and fair provision, as to run counter to that liberty of person and of free contract provided for in the Federal Constitution. It was further urged on the argument that restricting the hours of…