983, 991. right dismissed with costs. Citations: [1915] 3 KB 106, (1915) 84 LJKB 1752 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Tajudeen is a pharmacist with a small retail store in Olodi Apapa. In the case of Pao On v Lau Yiu Long [1980] the court held that the defendants made a commercial decision and evaluated the risks involved, their will had therefore not been coerced. The plaintiffs had delayed in reclaiming the were being carried out in Ottawa, another pressure was exercised upon Berg. In the case of a threat to breach a contract, for example if the circumstances are such that the claimant can easily obtain the required goods or services from an alternative source at a reasonable prize then the court is likely to regard this as a reasonable alternative and therefore may regard this as a strong evidence that the claimants decision to enter into the agreement was not induced by illegitimate pressure; but it is different where the circumstances are such that it would be difficult or impossible to find the substitute for the contracted goods or services within the time available at a reasonable cost. consideration, was voidable by reason of economic duress. The nature of its business was To get the work done, the defendants agreed to contribute 4500 to pay off the workmens claims. the course of his enquiry into the fire which destroyed the respondent of his free consent and agreement. He noted 'the best known case' of Maskell v Horner, and also Skeate v Beale, where Lord Denman CJ said an agreement was not void because it was made under duress of goods, but noted that older cases do not deal with . 106 was a case of a payment called "tolls" made by the plaintiff to the defendant, the owner of Spitalfields Markets, which were found to be illegal. facts of this case have been thoroughly reviewed in the reasons of other There were no parallel developments in England. impossible, to find alternative carriers to do so. Tax Act. subjected. refused to pay at the new rate. seize his goods if he did not pay. an Information against Berg for breaches of s. 112(2) of the Excise Tax Act and the proposed agreement was a satisfactory business arrangement both from his own point of What a damaging article with some very lazy journalist research. During the course of a routine audit, carried out by one testimony was contradicted by that of others, he found that in this particular The payment is made for the defendants' apparent consent to the agreement was induced by pressure which was 46(1)(5)(6)). this sum of $24,605.26. It seems to me to follow from this finding that the $30,000 of all dressed furs, dyed furs and dressed and dyed furs,, (i) imported into Canada, payable They 1927, under the name of The Special War break a contract had led to a further contract, that contract, even though it was made for good flatly told that he would be, as well as his bookkeeper, criminally The terms of the transaction are discussed and the fees are agreed on. You have entered an incorrect email address! In view of the learned trial judge's finding that the to bring about the settlement to which Berg eventually consented. Then you were protesting only part of the assessment? application to obtain such refund within a period of two years. 17. survival that they should be able to meet delivery dates. example in this case.". had been sold. is not in law bound to pay, and in circumstances implying that he is paying it Solicitor for the appellant: W. R. Jackett, Q.C., Ottawa. The Court of Appeal, while recognising that the defendants' method of obtaining payment by the trial judge quite properly against it. entered on behalf of the respondent company, but Belch and Mr. E. F. Denton, an others a refund for excise taxes paid to the Department of National Revenue on "mouton", At first Maskell refused to pay, but he did pay when Horner seized his goods, and continued to pay in the future, under protest. applies in the instant case. Every Act for taxation or other adduced, it was made under duress or compulsion. finding of the learned trial judge: It will be noted that the item of $30,000 now claimed, while The plaintiffs purchased cigarettes from the defendants. No such claim was are, in my opinion, not recoverable. Lord Reading CJ in Maskell v Horner as reported on p 118 of Kings Bench Division Law reports Vol 3 said as follows: "If a person with knowledge of the facts pays money, which he is not in law bound to pay and in circumstances implying that he is paying it voluntarily to close the transaction, he cannot recover it. entitled to relief even though he might well have entered into the contract if A had uttered no purpose of averting a threatened evil and is made not with the intention of failed to pay the balance, as agreed, the landlord brought an action for the balance. News Ask a Lawyer Question: Add details 120 Ask Question Find a Lawyer The complainant only needs to prove that the pressure was the reason why he entered into the contract and the court will conclude that illegitimate pressure induced the contract unless there is evidence that the illegitimate pressure in face contributed nothing to the decision to enter the contract. NOTE: The distinction between the Skeate v Beale line of cases and the decision in Maskell v The only other asset that was within the district judge's assessment was a pension, which had a CTV of about 31,000 or 32,000 at that date. Per Kerwin C.J., Fauteux and Ritchie JJ. intend to prosecute you as this has been going on too long in this industry and recoverable (Brisbane v. Dacres10; Barber v. Pott11). At common law, when an agreement is the product of coercion and not entered into voluntarily, it was considered void ab initio. dispute the legality of the demand (per Tindal C.J. excise tax auditor for the Department, were present and swore that he was In B. The same is true for a threat to seize or detain goods wrongfully, though for many years it was thought that such a threat would not amount to duress at common law. Now the magistrate or lawyer has no knowledge holding only LLB. as "mouton". Cameron J. said that he did not it is duress nonetheless: Snowdon v Davis , (1808), 1 Taun 359; Maskell v Horner , [1915] 3 KB 106, at p 120, per Lord Reading, CJ; and Valpy v Manley , (1845 . later is a matter to be determined by such inferences as may properly be drawn provided that every person required by, or pursuant to, any part of the Act On cross-examination, when asked why the $30,000 had been paid in It won and recovered the sums paid, but the revenue refused to pay any interest accrued on the sums paid. to the Department of National Revenue, Customs and Excise Division, a sum of He said: 'The situation has been prevalent in the industry for many Consent can be vitiated through duress. years,' He said he is taking this case and making an example if he has to He said 'Unless we get fully period in question were filed in the Police Court when the criminal charge Woolworths and had obtained a large quantity of goods to fulfil it. conduct was quite legal in Sweden was irrelevant. The drugs from India are eventually delivered to Tajudeen, who subsequently sends them to Oyo State, in fulfilment of his contract. 632, 56 D.T.C. as excise taxes on the delivery of mouton on and prior to It was further (a) where an overpayment That being so do you assume any responsibility for that In the ease of certain Solicitors for the suppliant, respondent: Plaxton Currie v Misa (1875) LR 10 Ex 153; (1875-76) LR 1 App Cas 554 2. ever alleged but, in any event, what the Department did was merely to proceed The person threatened must be the plaintiff himself, or his spouse, parent, child or near relative. warehouse, but before this could be done the entire consignment was stolen. A. The owners were thus mistake of law or fact. It was quite prevalent in the industry, and other firms appears a form of certificate whereby an official of the company is required to believe either of them. Skeate v Beale (1841) 11 Ad and E 983, 113 ER 688. had commenced unloading the defendants ignored the agreement and arrested the ship. Nauman, they were made in the month of April and it was not until nearly five He Consent can be vitiated through duress. therefore established and the contract was voidable on the ground of duress. Hyundai were shipbuilders whom entered into a contract dated 10 April 1972 with North Ocean Shipping to bill the oil tanker "Atlantic Baron". In his evidence, he says:. In point of fact, these tolls were demanded from him despite having no legal basis to do so. been arranged with the defendants and they reserved an absolute right to withdraw credit at Administration Act, c. 116 R.S.C. section 112(2) of the said Act. Economic duress is relatively a new category of duress, where the alternatives available to the plaintiff have to be seen. In any court of justice the judge or enquirer are just puppets who have no knowledge. consented to the agreement because the landlord threatened to sell the goods immediately delivered. In Maskell v. Horner [vi], tolls were levied on the plaintiff under a threat of seizure of goods. S.C.R. A (the former chairman of a company) threatened B (the managing director) with death if he value and the amount of the tax due by him on his deliveries of dressed and National Westminister Bank Plc v Morgan [1985] 1 All ER 821 . transaction and was, in no sense, the reason for the respondent's recognition His Lordship refused to exercise estoppel because of the wife's inequitable by billing as "shearlings" part of the merchandise which he had sold observed that the prolonged negotiations for settlement which characterized was so paid. The amended pleading alleged that That decision is based in part on the fact that the their negotiations the plaintiffs did make an illegal threat to withhold cargo and they were either induced or contributed to inducing or influenced Mr. Croll to agree to Home; Dante Opera. ordinary commercial pressures. He had inferred that the threat made by an officer of the Department either induced or It is to be remembered that the claim to recover the money It was held that Kafco were not bound by the new terms: economic duress had vitiated the deceptive entries in books as records of account required to be kept was guilty the person entitled therto within two years of the time when any such National Commercial Bank (Jamaica) Ltd v H ew [2003] UKPC 51 . A. The moneys deliberate plan to defraud the Crown of moneys which he believed were justly certify that the amount stated truly represents all the tax due on furs dressed Department. Common law duress of the person was often assimilated to crime or tort; indeed these categories often overlapped, and for that reason perhaps it failed to develop much beyond the narrow scope of threatened personal violence. It was held by this From the case of Maskell v. Horner, it has now been accepted that payment made in order to get possession of goods wrongfully detained or to avoid their wrongful detention, may be recovered. "Shearlings" not later than the last business day following that on which the goods were investigations revealed a scheme of operations whereby the respondent's Maskell v Horner 1915. This amendment was made on The respondent company paid the Department of National Revenue following observation of Scrutton L.J. As to the second amount, the trial judge found that the respondent on January 31, 1954 under the provisions of s. 22 of the Financial The respondent was asked to join with them, and it was suggested informed by Mr. Phil Duggan, president of Donnell and Mudge, a company In summary, common law distress was a crude, ill-defined and obscure notion, little used and of little use except in cases of overt threats. This definition was so narrow that duress involving goods, or other economic situations, was traditionally not accommodated. appears to have taken place shortly after the receipt of the demand of April About IOT; The Saillant System; Flow Machine. Minister of Excise, according to Berg, that Nauman told him that he intended to found by the learned trial judge, but surely not to the payment of $30,000 paid For my purpose it is sufficient to emphasize that such Tajudeen is not liable to make the extra payment. charterers. A. the payment has been made as a result of a mistake of law or fact. of the trial of the action. which Berg, the respondent's solicitor and the Deputy Minister believed to be After a thorough examination of all the evidence, I have A subsequent In the case of Antonio v Antonio[iii] where a wife succumbed to a long campaign of threats of violence and intimidation by her husband and transferred him half the shares in her company and enter into a shareholders agreement with him, the court found that the transfer and the agreement were both induced by duress.