ABSTRACT

If it is alleged that an agreement was concluded as a result of some improper and excessive pressure exerted by one of the parties on the other, the contract may be treated as voidable either under the common law doctrine of duress or under the equitable doctrine of undue influence. The basis of both duress and undue influence is that one of the parties gave no real consent to the contract. As duress and undue influence can only make a contract voidable, and not void, the right to rescind the contract can be lost by affirmation, an inability to restore the parties to their precontract position or the acquisition of rights by third parties. These bars to rescission were considered in Chapter 8 in relation to misrepresentation.