ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with situations in which an agreement which appears to be valid on its face is challenged because it is alleged that it is the product of improper pressure of some kind. This may take the form of threats of physical coercion or ‘economic’ threats (such as to break a contract), which place pressure on the other party. It seems that explicit threats are needed. Suppose, for example, that a woman has been beaten by her husband in the past, and is then asked by him to sell him her share in the matrimonial home at a gross undervalue. She agrees through fear of what he might do to her, even though he has made no threat to her on this occasion. It seems that this situation cannot be treated as duress, because the threat is implied, rather than explicit.1 English courts would deal with such a situation under the closely related, but conceptually distinct,2 category of ‘undue influence’. This basis for setting aside contracts is dealt with in Chapter 13.
