The Court held that a party can only be bound to a signed standard form contract when it is reasonable to believe that they consented to the terms.
He signed the rental agreement which contained an exclusion clause denying coverage for accidents that occur if the driver had consumed any alcohol.
He pleaded guilty to impaired driving and tried to collect from the insurance policy to pay for the damages of his accident.
Dubin observed that: In modern commercial practice, many standard form printed documents are signed without being read or understood.
The judge observed that the rental system is designed to be speedy and, therefore, lengthy and onerous terms cannot assumed to be assented to.