A defense against the enforcement of a contract or portion of a contract. If a contract is unfair or oppressive to one party in a way that suggests abuses during its formation, a court may find it unconscionable and refuse to enforce it. A contract...
COMMERCE
unconscionable
Unconscionable is an adjective that means without a conscience; unscrupulous; so unfair or unjust that it shocks the conscience. The adjective is frequently used in the context of contract law for contracts that have grossly oppressive and...
uncovered option
See Naked Option.
undercapitalization
Undercapitalization means that a company does not have enough capital to conduct ordinary business operations. Undercapitalization may also lead to the company being unable to pay its creditors. Among other causes, undercapitalization may...
undersecured debt
An undersecured debt is a debt secured by collateral with a lower value than the total amount of the claim. From the debtor’s perspective, the obligation owed to the creditor has a higher value than the collateral given by the debtor to...
underwrite
Underwrite can refer to one of many different kinds of financial risk taking. Broadly, underwrite means agreeing to some form of financial investment with the possibility of profits or losses. A few examples of underwriting include loans,...
underwriter
An underwriter is an institutional financial organization that assesses and assumes another party’s risk for a fee. Underwriters operate in the context of (1) securities offerings and (2) insurance.
(1) In the context of...
underwriting
The act of assuming a risk by insuring it, e.g., the insurance of life or property. The act of agreeing to buy all or part of a new issue of securities to be offered for public sale.
See also underwriter; insurance; Securities
undisclosed principal
Under agency law, undisclosed principals arise when a third party has no notice that the principal exists, but the undisclosed principal has authorized an agent to act on the principal’s behalf. The agent does not represent that they are...
undue influence
In contract law, a defense that can be used by a party to argue against the formation of a binding contract between two parties. The use of undue influence by one party over another puts the free will of one of the parties entering the contract into...