Key Takeaways

  • Duress in contract law refers to situations where one party is forced to sign a contract against their will, including threats of violence, economic pressure, or other undue influence.
  • Contracts signed under duress can be considered void or unenforceable if it can be proven that the signature was not given voluntarily.
  • To prove duress, you need to demonstrate that the pressure applied was severe, leaving you with no reasonable alternative.
  • Types of duress include physical duress, economic duress, and emotional or psychological pressure.
  • Examples of duress may include threats to personal liberty, physical harm, economic manipulation, or blackmail.
  • Proving duress requires substantial evidence, including documentation, eyewitness testimonies, and proof of lack of free will in signing the contract.
  • Professional legal assistance can greatly increase the chances of successfully proving duress in court.

What is Duress?

Simply put, a duress is when you are forced to do something against your own will. If you need to find out how to prove a contract was signed under duress, first you should understand how a contract works. A contract is a legally binding agreement between two parties in which both are supposed to fulfill its terms. The act of consideration is a promise between two parties. A duress is capable of proving consideration. 

Both individuals and organizations or companies can enter into contracts; they are a crucial part of doing business. If one party does not fulfill the terms of the agreement, the other may sue that party for breach of contract. In such a case, the court can order a remedy such as payment of damages or simply requiring the other party to perform the actions they originally agreed upon. However, there are conditions under which the contract may be considered unenforceable. For example, the contract cannot be upheld if one of the parties did not understand what they agreed to.

Duress in the context of contract law is not solely about the presence of pressure but rather the effect it has on the person’s ability to make a free and informed decision. The induced state of mind is crucial when assessing whether duress has occurred. It involves using threats, undue influence, or unlawful pressure to force someone into a contract. It can render a contract voidable, allowing the affected party to rescind the contract if they can prove that they were compelled to agree under duress.

Duress Defence: How To Prove Duress?

With a duress defense the person is used to comply with the contract. A party is able to pressure you into a salty situation. You’re doing this against your will because if you don't you will bring harm to your service or relationship. 

There are other situations under which a contract may be said to have been signed under duress. For example, if a person is forced to sign a contract at gunpoint, that would obviously be a case of signing under duress. However, any type of threat or other cause of stress that one party puts on another party may be considered duress; a physical weapon is not required.
Contracts can only be legally signed under a party's free will. Any type of coercion is considered duress if it allows one person to take advantage of another. Modification of a contract may also be done under duress.
The determination of duress is not whether or not the threat truly exists, but whether or not the person honestly believed that it did. However, a party can only claim duress if the other party in the contract was the one who caused the duress.

Steps to Prove You Signed a Contract Under Duress

Proving that you signed a contract under duress involves demonstrating that your consent was not freely given due to pressure or threats. Here are steps to take when building a case:

  1. Document Evidence: Gather all available documents, communications, emails, and text messages that show the coercive actions of the other party. These documents can provide crucial evidence of the pressure exerted on you.
  2. Witness Statements: Collect statements from individuals who witnessed the duress or were aware of the situation. Witnesses can help corroborate the circumstances and the psychological or economic pressure you faced.
  3. Demonstrate Lack of Alternatives: Show that you had no reasonable alternative but to sign the contract. Highlighting a lack of choice strengthens your claim of being under duress.
  4. Medical or Psychological Records: If applicable, provide medical or psychological records that reflect the distress caused by the coercion. This can include symptoms of anxiety, depression, or physical manifestations resulting from stress.
  5. Legal Consultation: Seek legal advice to help gather and present the evidence effectively. An attorney can guide you through the process of building a solid case and represent you in court if necessary.

By compiling these elements, you create a more convincing argument that the contract was signed under duress, which can lead to it being declared void or unenforceable.

Signing Under Duress

If you are influence to sign a contract,  this is an act of coercion. This action is an act of violence and threat to your defense. It is important to review the documents of exchange before signing a contract.

If it's discovered that one party was not capable of understanding the contract due to lack of capacity for reasoning, a court can rule that the contract is not enforceable. This can happen when the party who signed the contract is too young or if they are mentally incapacitated due to disability or dementia. This stipulation prevents people who cannot fully understand the terms of a contract from being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous person.

Types of Duress in Contract Law

  1. Physical Duress: This involves threats of physical harm or actual violence to compel someone to sign a contract. Contracts signed under such circumstances are almost universally considered void because the party was forced into the agreement.
  2. Economic Duress: Economic duress occurs when one party uses economic pressure, such as threatening to terminate a vital business relationship or withholding essential funds, to force the other party into signing a contract. To prove economic duress, the victim must show that the threat significantly limited their economic choices.
  3. Emotional or Psychological Duress: In some cases, emotional manipulation or psychological pressure can be considered duress. This often involves using intimidation, blackmail, or threats to force someone into an agreement. Proving emotional duress requires demonstrating that the psychological pressure deprived the person of their free will.

Understanding the different forms of duress can help you identify the specific nature of the coercion you experienced and strengthen your case when proving that you signed a contract under duress.

Examples of Duress

Besides the threat of physical or economic force, there are other situations that are considered duress and grounds for rendering a signed contract unenforceable. These factors include:

  • Misrepresentation, which means that the injured party was the victim of fraud during the negotiations process. In the interest of encouraging honesty in transactions, a contract that is based on false claims will likely be found to be unenforceable.
  • Nondisclosure, which is a form of misrepresentation. Instead of false claims, this indiscretion occurs when information is withheld. If someone had the responsibility to disclose information to the other party before the contract was signed, it may be considered duress. However, a court may rule against duress if the other party could have found out the information fairly easily on their own.
  • Unconscionability, which means that a part of the contract or agreement was so obviously unfair that it could not possibly be allowed to be enforced. This could result from large inequalities in power to negotiate, language or literacy problems causing trouble understanding the agreement, or the terms themselves being ridiculously unfair.
  • Public Policy, which means that the contract could present a problem to the community or society or that it breaks the law.
  • Mistakes, either by one party or both parties. If one or both parties made an error that has a serious impact on the agreement, it may be unenforceable.
  • Impossibility, meaning that the terms of the contract are simply impossible to carry out due to difficulty, expense, or impracticality. This can happen due to an unforeseeable event.
  • Threats to Personal Safety: A common example of duress is when one party threatens the physical safety of the other party or their loved ones unless they sign the contract.
  • Economic Pressure: Forcing a business partner to sign a contract by threatening to ruin their financial stability or withdraw vital support can constitute economic duress.
  • Emotional Blackmail: Applying undue pressure by threatening to reveal sensitive or damaging information can be a form of psychological duress.
  • Threats of Legal Action: Sometimes, the threat of unwarranted legal action is used to coerce someone into signing a contract, especially when the person is unaware of their legal rights or the baseless nature of the threats.

These examples illustrate the various scenarios in which duress may occur, highlighting the importance of being aware of coercive tactics in contractual agreements.

How UpCounsel Can Help You?

If you believe that you're a party in a contract that you signed under duress, it's vital that you get a lawyer to help you. It's not always easy to prove that duress existed, so you need legal representation to get the contract invalidated and avoid being held accountable for breach of contract.

If you believe that you signed a contract under duress, seeking professional legal assistance is critical. An experienced attorney can help you gather the necessary evidence, navigate the complexities of contract law, and represent your interests in court. UpCounsel connects individuals and businesses with skilled attorneys who specialize in contract disputes, ensuring you get the support needed to address your situation effectively.

If you need more information or help discovering how to prove a contract was signed under duress, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.