The parties contracted to transport the goods of the defendant. A rate was agreed, but the plaintiff then insisted on minimum quantities. The defendant now said that its agreement to the new term had been obtained by economic duress.
Held: A promise to perform an enforceable obligation under a pre-existing contract between the same parties is incapable of amounting to sufficient consideration. The defendant would have been put out of business by a refusal of the plaintiff to carry its goods, and economic duress was established. Where an agreement is induced by illegitimate pressure, the pressure is not legitimised because the party yielding to the pressure obtains some concession which ameliorates to some extent the impact of the benefit demanded by the other party.
Judges:
Tucker J
Citations:
[1989] 1 QB 833, [1989] 1 All ER 641
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Contract
Updated: 19 November 2022; Ref: scu.372852