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92_HB0573 LRB9203123RCmg 1 AN ACT in relation to contracts. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Illinois Fair Bargain Act of 2001. 6 Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: 7 "Standard form contract or lease" means a contract or 8 lease prepared in writing by a party for whom its use is 9 routine in business transactions with consumers of goods or 10 services, borrowers, tenants, or employees. 11 "Disabling civil dispute clause" means a provision 12 modifying or limiting procedural rights necessary or useful 13 to a consumer, borrower, tenant, or employee in the 14 enforcement of substantive rights against a party drafting a 15 standard form contract or lease, such as a clause requiring 16 the consumer, borrower, tenant, or employee to: 17 (1) assert any claim against the party who prepared 18 the form in a forum that is less convenient, more costly, 19 or more dilatory than the Illinois courts for the 20 resolution of the dispute; or 21 (2) assume a risk of liability for the legal fees 22 of the party preparing the contract; however, a seller, 23 lessor, or lender may exact from a buyer, tenant, or 24 borrower an obligation to reimburse the seller or lender 25 for a reasonable fee paid to secure enforcement of a 26 promise to pay money; or 27 (3) forgo any rights provided to litigants in the 28 State of Illinois; or 29 (4) present evidence to a purported neutral person 30 who may reasonably be expected to regard the party 31 preparing the contract as more likely to be a future -2- LRB9203123RCmg 1 employer of the neutral; or 2 (5) forgo recourse to appeal from a decision not 3 based on substantial evidence or disregarding his or her 4 legal rights; or 5 (6) decline to participate in a class action; or 6 (7) forgo an award of attorney's fees, civil 7 penalties, or of multiple damages otherwise available in 8 a judicial proceeding. 9 Section 10. Voidable clauses in contracts. A disabling 10 civil dispute clause in a standard form contract or lease is 11 unconscionable and is voidable by the consumer, borrower, 12 tenant, or employee. Upon request of a party to the contract 13 or lease, the court must declare void a disabling civil 14 dispute clause in a standard form contract or lease and 15 prohibit the enforcement of that provision. 16 Section 15. Exemptions. This Act does not apply to any 17 contract: 18 (1) for the sale or lease of property or for the 19 delivery of services having a value in excess of 20 $200,000, or for a loan in excess of that amount; or 21 (2) of employment providing for compensation in 22 excess of $100,000 a year; or 23 (3) that is a commercial letter of credit. 24 Section 20. Arbitration. Nothing in this Act precludes 25 parties from agreeing to the arbitration of a future dispute; 26 provided that the arbitration agreement does not impose on 27 any consumer, borrower, tenant, or employee procedural 28 disabilities such as those enumerated in Section 5 of this 29 Act as unconscionable. 30 Section 95. Severability. The provisions of this Act -3- LRB9203123RCmg 1 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.