Wille v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

For 13 years Wille (plaintiff) advertised his business in the yellow pages published by Southwestern Bell (defendant). The one-page 1974 listing contract twice directed attention on its front to terms on the back, which included an exculpatory clause capping Bell's liability for an incorrect or missing listing at the amount paid for that listing. When the published listings came out wrong or missing, Wille was not billed for them and paid nothing, but he spent money advertising elsewhere and sued for lost profits and those costs. The trial court granted Bell summary judgment based on the exculpatory clause, and Wille appealed.

Whether a party is bound by a contract term that is merely unequal or inequitable but is neither deceptive nor unconscionable.