battle of the forms

battle of the forms

in the law of contract, a case where the parties on their business forms include terms saying that the contract must be governed by their own, and not the other party's, terms and conditions. The courts usually resolve these matters by accepting that there is a contract and deciding which terms apply by seeing who, in the exchange of offers and acceptances, fired the last shot.

Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006