Also known as: sui-juris · of one's own right · full legal capacity
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A status of full legal capacity enjoyed by a natural person who is of full age and free from any recognized disability such as guardianship, minority, mental illness, or intoxication. A person in this status may incur binding contractual duties and exercise independent civil rights without the intervention of another. The status is determined by the absence of any disqualifying condition listed in the governing capacity rules.
Stephen Shaw, a twenty-five-year-old mechanic, negotiated and signed a three-year lease for diagnostic equipment with Summit Bank. He read the terms, asked questions about payment schedules, and made the first payment from his business account. When the bank later sought enforcement after a missed payment, Stephen could not avoid the obligation on capacity grounds because he possessed full legal capacity at the time of assent.
Sydney Santos, an adult baker, agreed with her employer to work more than sixty hours per week in exchange for higher wages. The state later enacted a statute capping hours for all adult workers. Santos argued that the statute improperly restricted her freedom to contract because she possessed full legal capacity and could decide her own working hours without state interference.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Samantha Stone obtained a divorce from bed and board that left the marital bond intact. She then sued her former husband in another state for alimony. The court treated her as possessing full legal capacity to maintain the separate action because the limited divorce did not suspend her independent civil rights.
Sofia Stern, an adult laundry owner, contracted with employees for shifts longer than the state maximum. After the state enforced the limit against her, she challenged the statute as an improper restriction on the liberty of persons who possess full legal capacity to arrange their own labor contracts.
A natural person lacks this status when under guardianship, an infant, mentally ill or defective, or intoxicated. Each condition removes the presumption of full capacity to incur contractual duties.
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No. The status establishes presumptive capacity, but a contract may still be voidable for other reasons such as fraud, duress, or unconscionability even when both parties possess full legal capacity.
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A minor is not sui juris and therefore lacks full capacity. The minor may incur only voidable duties, allowing disaffirmance even when the contract appears otherwise valid.
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…seriously limits the right to labor or the right of contract in regard to their means of livelihood between persons who are sui juris (both employer and employe), it becomes of great importance to determine which shall prevail — the right of the individual to labor for such time as he may choose, or the right of the…