Also known as: unilaterally · one-sided
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An action or agreement undertaken by only one party without requiring reciprocal action or consent from the other. The concept identifies situations where one side alone initiates, accepts, or alters a legal relationship or obligation.
Congress passes a spending bill funding multiple programs. The President cancels only the portions he dislikes after signing the bill into law. A court holds the cancellations invalid because the President may approve or reject an entire bill but cannot alter specific provisions alone.
A tenant remains in possession after the lease expires with no new agreement. The landlord elects to treat the holdover as creating a new one-year term. The election binds the tenant to the additional term unless equitable factors allow extra time to vacate.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A buyer in State A purchases goods from a seller in State B. The seller never visits or advertises in State A. The buyer later sues in State A. The court finds no jurisdiction because the seller's contacts cannot be supplied by the buyer's unilateral decision to purchase.
A state statute permits only the husband to sell jointly owned marital property without the wife's consent. The wife challenges the statute after a sale reduces her interest. The court invalidates the law as an impermissible gender classification.
Congress appropriates funds for a specific program. The President directs agencies to withhold the money to achieve different policy goals. A court orders release of the funds because the executive may not refuse to spend amounts Congress has directed be expended.
Congress enacts a statute allowing one house to override an executive decision on deportation. An alien challenges the procedure after one house blocks suspension of his deportation. The court holds the one-house override unconstitutional because it alters legal rights without bicameral passage and presentment.
A unilateral contract forms when the offeree accepts solely by completing the requested performance, leaving only the offeror with a remaining promise. A bilateral contract forms upon the exchange of mutual promises, with both parties retaining future obligations at formation.
No. Minimum contacts require the defendant to purposefully avail itself of the forum. The unilateral activity of the plaintiff or a third party cannot satisfy this requirement.
No. The President's veto power permits only approval or rejection of an entire bill. Selective cancellation or amendment of statutory provisions exceeds that authority.
A landlord may elect to hold the tenant to another term solely because of improper holding over, unless the lease provides otherwise or equitable considerations justify an extension for the tenant to vacate.
…not sustain the present rules. Viewed as a choice based on pure policy, these new rules prove to be a highly debatable, if not one-sided, appraisal of the competing interests, imposed over widespread objection, at the very time when judicial restraint is most called for by the circumstances. II. CONSTITUTIONAL…