Severability Clause
A term preserving the remainder of an agreement if part is held invalid.
Severance is what saves an arbitration agreement with one bad term. It fails when a court concludes the agreement is permeated by unconscionable provisions — a finding that reflects a judgment about the drafter's overall design rather than any single clause, and that has taken down entire consumer arbitration programmes.
See also
- Blow-Up ProvisionA term providing that if part of the arbitration scheme fails, the whole agreement — or the class waiver — falls with it.
- UnconscionabilityThe contract defence that voids terms that are both oppressively imposed and unreasonably one-sided.
- Arbitration ClauseThe operative text: scope, provider, rules, allocation of fees, and waivers.
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