Also known as: wrongful threats · duress · coercion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An improper or unlawful threat that coerces a party into manifesting assent or performing an act. The threat renders the resulting conduct or agreement voidable or invalid when it leaves the victim with no reasonable alternative.
Wallace Webb owed a large mortgage balance to Winslow Aviation. When Webb fell behind on payments, the lender threatened to seize his unrelated business assets unless he immediately executed a deed in lieu transferring the mortgaged property. Webb signed the deed under that pressure. A court later scrutinized the transfer and set it aside because the threat rendered the conveyance involuntary.
Wanda Weaver received a letter from an attorney offering representation in a personal-injury matter. The attorney followed up with repeated calls warning that failure to retain him would result in immediate loss of her insurance coverage and possible criminal referral. Weaver retained the lawyer out of fear. The solicitation violated professional rules because it involved coercion.
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Wyatt Wilson refused to sign a proposed supply contract with Warwick Electronics. The company representative grabbed Wilson's hand and forced the pen across the signature line while Wilson verbally protested. The resulting document was later challenged. Because the signature was produced by physical compulsion, it did not constitute effective assent.
Winston Ward, elderly and dependent on his caregiver, was told that his utilities would be shut off and he would be left alone if he refused to change his will. The caregiver prepared a new will naming herself sole beneficiary and stood over Ward until he signed. After Ward's death, the probate court invalidated the will because the transfer was procured by duress.
Wayne Walker, suffering from severe anxiety, confessed to a crime after his own mental distress prompted him to speak. No police officer threatened or pressured him. The court admitted the confession because the statement resulted from Walker's internal condition rather than any official compulsion.
Wanda Williams was presented with a premarital agreement minutes before her wedding ceremony. Her fiancé threatened to cancel the wedding and publicly humiliate her if she did not sign immediately. Williams signed without reading the document. A court later refused to enforce the agreement because her consent was the product of duress.
A wrongful threat involves an improper act such as a crime, tort, or bad-faith use of civil process that leaves the victim no reasonable alternative. An ordinary hard bargain merely exploits superior bargaining power without such impropriety.
A threat of lawful action can still be wrongful if made in bad faith or used to extract assent when the threatened party has no reasonable alternative. Courts examine the actor's subjective intent and the context of the demand.
Physical compulsion renders apparent assent entirely ineffective as a manifestation of assent. A wrongful threat leaves the victim with a choice, however constrained, and renders the resulting contract merely voidable rather than void.
Yes, when the threat constitutes unlawful force or coercion that overcomes the defendant's will, the defense of duress may excuse conduct that would otherwise be criminal, provided the defendant did not recklessly place himself in the situation.
…factors are considered herein as particularly important: (1) the existence of evidence of the use of physical and psychological coercion to obtain confessions, and (2) the necessity for procedural safeguards to protect the privilege against self-incrimination. II We sometimes forget how long it has taken to establish…