Also known as: policies · public policy · insurance policy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A societal or legal principle that courts and legislatures invoke to assess the validity of private agreements and trust terms. Arrangements that contravene the principle are unenforceable even if the parties consented.
A contract under which an insurer agrees to indemnify the insured or a third party against specified losses in exchange for premiums.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A societal or legal principle that courts and legislatures invoke to assess the validity of private agreements and trust terms. Arrangements that contravene the principle are unenforceable even if the parties consented.
After the lease ended, landlord Peak Performance inserted a clause allowing it to change the locks on tenant Pedro Pacheco's retail space without court process. The tenant refused to vacate and the landlord attempted self-help. A court held the clause unenforceable because the controlling statute provided a speedy judicial remedy.
Voters in several districts sued state officials claiming the legislative map diluted their votes. The state moved to dismiss on political-question grounds. The court applied the six-factor test and concluded that no factor barred adjudication of the apportionment claim.
Settlor Pavel Petrov created a trust whose sole purpose was to pay fines imposed on his adult children for repeated traffic violations. The trustee refused to administer the trust. A court terminated the trust because its purpose violated public policy.
Mortgagor Phoebe Park signed a mortgage containing a clause that automatically converted the mortgage into a deed if she missed any payment. When she defaulted, the mortgagee claimed absolute title. The court voided the clause as an impermissible clog on the equity of redemption.
Two businesses agreed that one would not solicit the other's customers for five years after termination of their supply contract. When the restriction was challenged, the court looked to state antitrust legislation to determine whether enforcement would offend public policy.
A court refuses enforcement when the agreement contravenes a statute, a judicially recognized policy protecting the public welfare, or a trust purpose that is unlawful or impossible. The Restatement (Second) of Contracts and the Uniform Trust Code both require that the term or purpose be lawful and not contrary to public policy.
The doctrine renders the case nonjusticiable when the issue presents a lack of judicially discoverable standards or requires the court to make a policy determination clearly committed to another branch. Baker v. Carr lists this factor as one of six that can bar adjudication.
Such clauses are void because they unreasonably restrict or waive the mortgagor's right to redeem the property by paying the debt before foreclosure. Courts treat them as contrary to public policy under mortgage law.
A contract under which an insurer agrees to indemnify the insured or a third party against specified losses in exchange for premiums.
After a car accident, injured plaintiff Priscilla Parks sued the liability insurer directly without joining the insured driver. The insurer argued it was a citizen only of its state of incorporation. The court applied the direct-action rule and treated the insurer as a citizen of the insured's state as well.
In a direct action against a liability insurer where the insured is not joined, the insurer is deemed a citizen of every state of which the insured is a citizen, in addition to its own state of incorporation and principal place of business.
…Stat. § 940.04 (6) (1969), and the new Connecticut Statute, Pub. Act No. 1 (May 1972 special session), declaring it to be the public policy of the State and the legislative intent "to protect and preserve human life from the moment of conception." [^maj-56]: Edelstein 16. [^maj-57]: Lader 97-99; D. Feldman, Birth Control in…
…and neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here. But when that sincere, personal opposition becomes enacted law and public policy, the necessary consequence is to put the imprimatur of the State itself on an exclusion that soon demeans or stigmatizes those whose own liberty is then denied. Under the Constitution,…
…schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law, for the policy
…May 1, 1971 (unpublished text, pp. 6-7). [^maj-5]: See N. Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 96-a (McKinney 1977). It declares that it is the public policy
…judiciary—while competent to choose among the range of traditional judicial remedies to implement statutory and common-law
No. When the controlling law supplies a speedy judicial remedy, any lease clause authorizing self-help is against public policy and void under the Restatement (Second) of Property.