§ 5-10-903 — Unconscionability

(1) With respect to a rental purchase
transaction, if the court as a matter of law finds the transaction, the agreement, or
any clause of the agreement to have been unconscionable at the time it was made,
the court may refuse to enforce the agreement or it may enforce the remainder of
the agreement without the unconscionable clause, or it may so limit the application
of any unconscionable clause as to avoid any unconscionable result.

(2) If it is claimed or appears to the court that the transaction, the
agreement, or any clause thereof may be unconscionable, the parties shall be
afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to its setting, purpose,
and effect to aid the court in making any such determination related to
unconscionability.

(3) If, in an action in which unconscionability is claimed, the court finds
unconscionability pursuant to this section, the court may award the costs of the
action and a reasonable attorney fee to the lessee. If the court does not find
unconscionability and does find that the lessee claiming unconscionability brought
or maintained an action he knew to be groundless, the court may award the costs of
the action and a reasonable attorney fee to the party against whom the claim was
made. In determining such attorney fee, the amount of recovery claimed on behalf
of the lessee shall not be controlling.

(4) The remedies of this section are in addition to remedies otherwise
available for the same conduct authorized under law other than in this article, but
double recovery of actual damages may not be had.

(5) For the purpose of this section, a charge or practice expressly permitted
by this article is not in itself unconscionable.

Legislative History

Source: L. 90: Entire article added, p. 377, � 1, effective January 1, 1991.