Economic Duress Flashcards
Definition of economic duress
Economic duress is where one party is financially pressured into entering into a contract, so the agreement made is not true or a real agreement, this makes the contract voidable meaning the innocent party can end the contract if they choose to
What is the first element of economic duress + case
The first element which much be proven is that the innocent party felt pressured and coerced into entering into an agreement or varying one they have
Universe Tankship: the ship owners agreed to do good so the ship could leave port but the money had been extracted due to economic duress so ug had to be repaid
What must the pressure applied be
The pressure must be illegitimate meaning the pressure must be unlawful and more than the party driving a hard bargain or re-negotiating terms of a contract
How do they decide if the pressure applied is illegitimate
The judge will consider the factors from Pao and come to a reasoned conclusion. The factors include: did the person claiming to be coerced protest about the pressure? Did that person have nah other available course of action that would be reasonable? Was he independently advised before taking the action? After entering the contract did he take step a to make the contract void
