Contract Law: Cases, Statutes and Regulations

UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE (UCC)

The Uniform Commercial Code is a body of model legislation governing commercial transactions. The UCC has been adopted in some form by all 50 states and Washington, DC.  To find a state's version of the UCC, check its legislative code (look in the index for UCC).

For further information on the UCC, see this guide's UCC page.

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OTHER STATUTES

State and federal jurisdictions have also codified various other aspects of contract law, such as those relating to consumer protection and government contracts.  Legislative codes are available in annotated (containing editorial notes and research references) and unannotated (text of the law only) versions. 

Each federal and state code set has an index.  To locate relevant statutes, choose one of the annotated codes and search its index for your keywords.  

 

FEDERAL STATUTES

• United States Code - Official, unannotated version

         Also available online at GPO's FdSys (free)

• United States Code Annotated (USCA) - Westlaw's annotated version

         Also available on WestlawNext

• United States Code Service (USCS) - Lexis' annotated version

         Also available on Lexis and Lexis Advance

STATE STATUTES

To find statutory codes for individual states, visit Lexis or Westlaw. Current, official, unannotated versions may also be found on state legislatures' websites. 

The Law Library has some state codes in print.  Check Scholar OneSearch or ask a librarian.

Massachusetts' code may be found here:

• General Laws of Massachusetts - Official, unannotated version

         Also available (unofficially) online from the Mass. Legislature

• Massachusetts General Laws Annotated - Westlaw's annotated version

         Also available on Westlaw and WestlawNext

• Annotated Laws of Massachusetts - Lexis' annotated version

         Also available on Lexis and Lexis Advance

For comparative state laws on contracts, consult:

• Subject Compilation of State Laws and do a subject search for Contracts, Breach of Contract, Uniform Commercial Code, and related terms

          Available via HeinOnline (research database)

FEDERAL CASES

• Lexis, Lexis Advance and Westlaw Next have federal case law databases.  

STATE CASES

• Digests may be used to locate cases in state reporters.  Some states have their own digest, others use a regional digest, and some have both.  Ask a librarian for assistance. 

• Massachusetts

  • West's Massachusetts Digest, 2d

FEDERAL REGULATIONS

• Code of Federal Regulations

Also available online via GPO's FDsys (free, annual edition as it appears in print), e-CFR (free, unofficial, updated frequently) and on Westlaw, WestlawNext, Lexis and Lexis Advance

STATE REGULATIONS

Massachusetts regulations may be found here:

• Code of Massachusetts Regulations

Also available via the Social Law Library (Legal Research database), Westlaw, WestlawNext, Lexis and Lexis Advance

Other state administrative codes may be found on Lexis and Westlaw.