Frostifresh Corp. v. Reynoso
District Court, Nassau County, Second District
274 N.Y.S.2d 757 (1966)
A Spanish-speaking Frostifresh Corp. (plaintiff) salesman sold Reynoso (defendant), also a Spanish speaker, a refrigerator-freezer under an English-only installment contract for $1,145.88, despite the entire sales negotiation happening in Spanish and Reynoso telling the salesman he was about to lose his job and couldn't afford the unit; the salesman assured him referral commissions would cover the cost. Reynoso defaulted after paying only $32, and at trial Frostifresh itself testified the unit's actual value to Frostifresh was only $348.
Whether a sales contract may be voided as unconscionable where the seller exploited a language barrier and superior bargaining position to charge a price grossly exceeding the goods' actual value.