CBA Record July-August 2025

studies from linguists and psychologists to establish that disorganized texts exact greater time and effort, scatter readers’ attention, and impair recall. Against the backdrop of these empiri cal findings, the authors discuss their own research, finding that 96 of the 100 sampled contracts display at least one of the messy elements. The implications are far-reaching: billions of users face barriers in understanding the terms that govern so many aspects of their lives. The authors argue for modest but mean ingful interventions, calling on regula tors and courts alike to effectuate change. These changes may include statutory man dates that firms include certain baseline features in online contracts or that courts relax consumers’ duty-to-read when con tracts are especially convoluted. This moderate approach, one that preserves business flexibility while still enhancing consumer protection, is positioned as the most effective means of achieving reform in this important arena.

REVIEW OF REVIEWS

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Messy Contracts By Shmuel I. Becher and Uri Benoliel, 2024 U. Ill. L. Rev. 893 (2024) Reviewed by Bryce Boyd, 2L at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

Authors Becher and Benoliel analyzed contracts appearing on 100 consumer websites and found that the overwhelm ing majority contain structural deficien cies and sloppy formatting, features that significantly undermine consumer under standing and participation. These contracts, though ubiquitous, fre quently lack even the most basic organiza tional features, two of which the authors identify as particularly vital for readers’ comprehension: (1) a table of contents and (2) informative headings. A contract

that omits either of these two elements becomes what the authors term “messy,” a label that encompasses both the contracts’ structural shortcomings and the cognitive burden they place on their readers. Messy contracts don’t merely confuse, they erode meaningful consent by reduc ing the likelihood that consumers read them, and they push consumers into an inferior position by discouraging review of terms once disputes arise. The authors are clear that this is not merely a theoretical concern. They outline various empirical

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CBA RECORD 49