Also known as: ex capite metús · on the ground of fear · duress
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A ground for rescinding a transaction induced by serious threats that overcome free will. The maxim applies when fear or duress vitiates consent, rendering the resulting agreement or transfer voidable.
Everest Holdings faced foreclosure on its commercial property after missing payments to Edgewater Capital. Edgewater's agent threatened immediate seizure of all corporate assets unless the company executed a deed in lieu transferring title. Fearing total business collapse, Everest signed. A court later set aside the deed because the transfer was procured by duress rather than voluntary consent.
Evelyn Ellison received a letter from a lawyer offering estate-planning services. The letter warned that failure to schedule an immediate meeting would expose her to regulatory scrutiny over prior business filings. Ellison met the lawyer and signed an engagement letter only because she feared the threatened investigation. The agreement was later invalidated as the product of coercive solicitation.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Edward Everett negotiated a supply contract with Elemental Pharmaceuticals. When Everett refused the final price, the company's representative grabbed his hand and forced the pen onto the signature line while Everett protested. The resulting document was held ineffective because the apparent assent was physically compelled by duress.
Ella Emerson told her nephew she intended to leave her vacation home to charity. The nephew threatened to publicize family financial records unless she immediately executed a deed conveying the property to him instead. Emerson signed out of fear of reputational harm. The donative transfer was later invalidated as procured by duress.
Elliot Edmonds presented a premarital agreement to his fiancée the night before their wedding. He stated that refusal would cause him to cancel the ceremony and leave her without housing or support. She signed fearing immediate homelessness. The agreement was later held unenforceable because her consent was the result of duress.
Edith Eberhardt's caregiver threatened to abandon her without medical care unless she executed a new will naming the caregiver as sole beneficiary. Eberhardt signed the document while hospitalized and isolated. In probate proceedings the contestants established that the will was procured by duress, shifting the burden to the proponent to prove validity.
The party must prove that serious threats overcame free will and induced the transaction. Courts examine whether the victim had any reasonable alternative and whether the threat was wrongful.
No. Serious threats of harm to person, property, or reputation suffice when they leave the victim with no reasonable choice but to assent.
Yes. Courts scrutinize deeds in lieu for duress because the transfer must be voluntary and supported by consideration. Fear-induced transfers are voidable.
A donative transfer procured by duress is invalid to the extent the threat coerced the donor into an act the donor would not otherwise have performed.
No. Consent obtained through duress renders the agreement unenforceable when the threatened party proves the agreement resulted from involuntary assent.
…for a spell of several hours pausing only for the subject's necessities in acknowledgment of the need to avoid a charge of duress that can be technically substantiated. In a serious case, the interrogation may continue for days, with the required intervals for food and sleep, but with no respite from the atmosphere of…