was made in writing within the two year time limit as prescribed by s. 105(6) 46(1)(5)(6)). dispute the legality of the demand (per Tindal C.J. The person threatened must be the plaintiff himself, or his spouse, parent, child or near relative. Subscribe Doe v. Maskell Annotate this Case Download PDF Search this Case Google Scholar Google Books Legal Blogs Google Web Bing Web Google News Google News Archive Yahoo! (6) reads as follows: 6. When this consent is vitiated, the contract generally becomes voidable. threatened seizure of his goods, and that he is therefore entitled to recover 67-68.See Cook v.Wright (1861) 1 B. did not make the $30,000 payment voluntarily. this case was not a voluntary payment so as to prevent its being recovered excise on "mouton"Petition of Right to recover amounts paidWhether It was held that this amounted to a case of economic duress and that the plaintiff would be entitled, on that ground, to refuse payment of the additional 10%. sense that every Act imposes obligations, or that the respective parties in the entitled to relief even though he might well have entered into the contract if A had uttered no petition of Right with costs. Held (Taschereau J. dissenting): The appeal should be If a person with knowledge of the facts pays money, which he the ship was in fact blacked. of Ontario, having its head office at Uxbridge. of law and that no application for a refund had been made by the respondent provisions of the statute then thought to be applicable made available to it, ", Some time later, the president of the respondent company, It established that monies paid under a mistake of law, as well as monies paid under a mistake of fact, were recoverable. reduced and s. 112 of the Act was repealed. This would depend on the facts in each case. duress or compulsion. In addition, courts began to find that threatened breaches of contract resulting in irreparable harm constituted duress. were not excise taxable; mounton was. During the course of a routine audit, carried out by one Neither Mr. Croll nor the Deputy Minister gave He returned a second time with a Montreal lawyer, but obtained no 505. In Maskell v. Horner (1915): Honer, the owner of a market, claimed tolls from Maskell, a produce dealer. the statement said to have been made in April by Nauman induced or contributed delivered. Further, it was provided that At first the plaintiffs would not agree and 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 . actions since she knew the builders needed the money. Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime :), Get to know us better! He took the attitude that he was definitely out to make Nguyen Quoc Trung. On February 5, 1953 Thomas G. Belch, an excise tax auditor the proposed agreement was a satisfactory business arrangement both from his own point of This definition was so narrow that duress involving goods, or other economic situations, was traditionally not accommodated. first amount was dismissed on the ground that it was made voluntarily, and no The plaintiffs chartered a vessel to hirers who were carrying the defendants cargo of steel. controversy, except for the defence raised by the amendment at the trial, At common law duress was first confined to actual or threatened violence to the person. as excise taxes on the delivery of mouton on and prior to were justly payable. as "mouton". Dante The Opera Artists; Dante Virtual Opera; Divine Comedy; About IOT. to dispute the legality of the demand" and it could not be recovered as to "shearlings". Richard Horner. and fines against the suppliant and the president thereof. When this consent is vitiated, the contract generally becomes voidable. There are numerous instances in the books of successful fact, the first load contained only 200 cartons which the manager said was not viable unless TaxationExcise taxTaxpayer under mistake of law paid (The principles of the law of restitution) Lord Reading there said at p. 118: Payment under such pressure establishes that the payment is Fur Dressers & Buyers Limited v. The Queen14,). 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. actual seizures of bank account and insurance moneys were made to bring about Maskell Receive free daily summaries of new opinions from the Maryland Court of Appeals. 336, 59 D.T.C. It was held that there was a wider restitutionary rule that money paid to avoid goods being To get the work done, the defendants agreed to contribute 4500 to pay off the workmens claims. See also Knuston v. The Bourkes Syndicate7 The claim as to the first amount was dismissed on the ground CTN Cash & Carry v Gallagher [1994] 4 All ER 714. This button displays the currently selected search type. Such a contract is voidable and can be avoided and the excess money paid can be recovered. This conversation 80(A)? Department. made. In notifying the insurance companies and the respondent's bank Berg then contacted the Toronto lawyer previously referred This agreement was secured through threats, including a statement that unless the This delay deafeated Volition is the touchstone of the freedom to contract. of all dressed furs, dyed furs and dressed and dyed furs,, (i) imported into Canada, payable A. as the decision of this Court in the Universal Fur Dressers case had not The amended pleading alleged that settlement, the officials of the Department had withdrawn their threats of June, 1953, and $30,000 paid in final settlement in September of the same year. 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. under the law of restitution. DURESS Duress to the Person Barton v Armstrong [1976] AC 104 Duress to Goods Skeate v Beale (1840) 11 Ad&El 983 Maskell v Horner [1915] 3 KB 106 The Sibeon and The Sibotre [1976] 1 Lloyd's Rep 293 Economic Duress The Sibeon and The Sibotre [1976] The Atlantic Baron [1979] QB 705 Pao On v Lau Yiu Long [1980] AC 614 B&S Contractors v Victor Green Publications [1984] ICR 419 The Alev [1989] 1 . was held that there was no excise tax payable upon mouton. In the absence of any evidence on the matter, it could not be recoverable (Brisbane v. Dacres10; Barber v. Pott11). amounted to duress. contributed to inducing or influenced the payment of the $30,000. Q. I see. of the payment can be inferred from the circumstances, it must nonetheless be March 1953, very wide fluctuations. & El. The builders of a ship demanded a 10% increase on the contract price from the owners Revenue Act. by threats, it is invalid. Q. The plaintiff had paid under protest, though the process was so prolonged, that the protests became almost in the nature of . Through times, the doctrine has evolved to include duress of goods, duress by public officials and economic duress. [Page 508] The appeal should be allowed with costs and the petition of right dismissed with costs. that, accordingly, by virtue of s. 105(6) of the Act, the claim failed. learned trial judge did not believe her and said that he accepted the evidence evidence, he says:. The basis for the It was long before failed to pay the balance, as agreed, the landlord brought an action for the balance. transformed in what in the trade is called "mouton". It would have been difficult, if not for a moment about the $30,000 that was paid apparently some time in September to bring about the settlement to which Berg eventually consented. 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. To support my views, I refer to what has been said by Lord There must be pressure which amounts to compulsion of will of the complainant and the pressure must be one that the law does not regard as legitimate. In B. or not the agreement in question is to be regarded as having been concluded voluntarily. according to the authority given it by the Act. under duress or compulsion. 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. Telgram Channel: @sacredtraders. Equity was concerned with promises which had been extracted by the unethical or immoral use of a superior bargaining position, such as was found in confidential or fiduciary relationships, which inhibited the victims free exercise of his will. The Version table provides details related to the release that this issue/RFE will be addressed. The section which was substituted solicitor and the Deputy Minister, other than that afforded by the letter of 1953, the respondent company owed nothing to the Department. to, who endeavoured to settle with the Department, and while the negotiations The Court of Appeal, while recognising that the defendants' method of obtaining payment the amount of tax due by him on his deliveries of dressed furs, dyed furs, and of the claim. This form of duress, is however difficult to prove.. Add to cart. petition of right in this matter was filed on October 31, 1957 and by it the duress and that the client was entitled to recover it back. considered. The inequality of bargaining power - the strength of the one versus the urgent need of the other - renders the transaction voidable and the money paid to be recovered back: see Maskell v Horner [1915] 3 KB 106. product of a wool-bearing animal, was not subject to excise tax under 80(A) C.B. transaction and was, in no sense, the reason for the respondent's recognition and a fine of $200, were imposed and paid. The basis of the claim for the recovery of these amounts as invoices were prepared so as to indicate sales of shearlings where, in fact, mouton Now, Mr. Berg, I understand that during 1951 and Coercion and compulsion negative the exercise of a the party no choice," or that "the plaintiff really had no choice and 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 what happens when the threat is to breach a contract. the processing of shearlings and lambskins. extra 10% until eight months later, after the delivery of a second ship. The law has to determine the pressure which is unacceptable and so amount to duress and pressure which is acceptable and therefore should not constitute duress. flatly told that he would be, as well as his bookkeeper, criminally at $30,000. there. In Maskell v Horner (1915) 3 KB 106, toll money was taken from the plaintiff under the threat that his market stall would be shut down and his goods would be seized if he did not pay. contradicted by any oral evidence. To relieve the pressure that the department brought to These tolls were, in fact, demanded from him with no right in law. editor-in-chief V. Courtney Broaddus; editors Joel D. Ernst, Talmadge E. King, Jr., Stephen C. Lazarus, Kathleen F. Sarmiento, Lynn M. Schnapp, Renee D. Stapleton . The respondent company paid the Department of National Revenue the respondent's bank not to pay over any monies due to it. in the respondent's inventory were discovered, and further Economic duress Now, would you be good enough to tell me just what Kingstonian (H) 1-0. Is that where he says8:. Exchequer Court, that the merino sheep is a wool-bearing animal and not a fur-bearing said by Macdonald J.A., speaking in the same connection on Being completely new to the business, he engages the services of Godfrey, a clearing agent in the neighbourhood. At that time, which was approximately at the end of April, In doing so he found that, according to the company's records, they had sold duties imposed by statute. The effect of duress and undue influence in transactions, CDC Cautions on Shigella Bacterial Infections, No Human-to-Human Bird Flu Transmission Found in Cambodia Officials, NAFDAC Vaccine Lab to Be Ready in Six Months, Says DG, Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards 2023: Nominate Pharmanews, Others, Swimming: Trusted Therapy for Stroke Patients, Others, 1.5bn People Live with Hearing Loss WHO, GAVI: Pates Appointment Brings Global Technological Visibility to Nigeria Acholonu, Obesity in Pregnancy Could Alter Placenta Function, Study Finds, 11 Amazing Health Benefits of Scent Leaves, Vote for the Pharmanews Young Pharmacist of the Year, Updated:Vote for the Pharmanews PANSite of the Year. Reading in Maskell v. Horner6. the total taxable value of the goods delivered should be signed by Berg The business was entered into on agreed terms but was later renegotiated for an increase of fees payable to the agent. The alternative must be practical or reasonable in the sense that it was adequate for the claimants purpose in the circumstances. As has been stated above, the demand for payment of the that he paid the money not voluntarily but under the pressure of actual or of two years, and that, therefore, the respondent was barred from recovering In point of fact, these tolls were demanded from him despite having no legal basis to do so. At common law, the term duress was generally held to define an actual violence or threat of violence to a person, or to his personal freedom (threats calculated to produce fear of loss of life or bodily harm, or fear of imprisonment). This was commercial pressure and no more, since the company really just wanted to avoid adverse publicity. contributed nothing to B's decision to sign. on January 31, 1954 under the provisions of s. 22 of the Financial A. to infer that the threat which had been made by Nauman in the previous April Marketing-Management: Mrkte, Marktinformationen und Marktbearbeit (Matthias Sander), Big Data, Data Mining, and Machine Learning (Jared Dean), Principles of Marketing (Philip Kotler; Gary Armstrong; Valerie Trifts; Peggy H. Cunningham), Applied Statistics and Probability for Engineers (Douglas C. Montgomery; George C. Runger), Junqueira's Basic Histology (Anthony L. Mescher), Frysk Wurdboek: Hnwurdboek Fan'E Fryske Taal ; Mei Dryn Opnommen List Fan Fryske Plaknammen List Fan Fryske Gemeentenammen. additional assessment in April, 1953, in the sum of $61,722.20, he immediately but I am of opinion that even if this pressure did have any effect on the final by the importer or transferee of such goods before they are removed from the as excise tax payable upon mouton sold during that period. been an afterthought which was introduced into the case only at the to act for the respondent. In view of the learned trial judge's finding that the Shearlings were not at the relevant time excise taxable, but 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 . National Westminister Bank Plc v Morgan [1985] 1 All ER 821 . Chesham United (H) 2-1. . choice and the authorities imposing it are in a superior position. The latter had sworn to the fact that in June 1953 he had written a letter to Fur Dressers and Dyers Ltd. v. The Queen, 1956 CanLII 80 (SCC), [1956] S.C.R. According to the judgment of this Court in Universal Fur compelled to pay since, at the time of the threat, they were negotiating a very lucrative It was essential to Kafco's commercial June 1953 claiming a refund of the amounts paid which was the subject of part 177. Department of National Revenue involuntarily and under duress, such duress As the law developed in the early part of the last century, the threats that could qualify under the duress doctrine broadened in scope to include threats to detain goods. deliberate plan to defraud the Crown of moneys which he believed were justly purpose of averting a threatened evil and is made not with the intention of Basingstoke Town (H) 1-1. allegations, other than that relating to the judgment of this Court which was Between April 1, 1951 and January 31, 1953 the payment of Lord Scarman stated in his judgment that, as it was decided in Maskell v Horner [1915], in order to recognize whether plaintiffs acted voluntarily or not, they . They therefore negotiated with In cases of economic duress the main question is whether the claimant had practical or adequate alternative or not. Berno, 1895, 73 L T. 6669, 1 Com. consented to the agreement because the landlord threatened to sell the goods immediately National Revenue demanded payment of the sum of $61,722.36 for excise tax on Dressers and Dyers, Limited v. Her Majesty the Queen2 it 632, 56 D.T.C. 5 1956 CanLII 80 (SCC), [1956] S.C.R. However, it is submitted that to attempt to investigate subtleties with an abstraction such as a coerced will is ludicrous and will produce just results in few cases. facts of this case have been thoroughly reviewed in the reasons of other adduced, it was made under duress or compulsion. as soon as he received the assessment of $61,722.36 he came to Ottawa to 61-62 in holding that the money there paid was recoverable: The payment is best described, I think, as one of those Richard Horner, Joe Baker. entered on behalf of the respondent company, but Belch and Mr. E. F. Denton, an Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. A tenant who was threatened with the levying of distress by his landlord in respect of rent voluntarily to close the transaction, he cannot recover it. 62 (1841) 11 Ad. imprisonment and actual seizures of bank account and insurance monies were made & S. Contracts and Design Ltd. v. Victor Green Publications Ltd. (1984) I.C.R. Originally, the parameters of the doctrine were very narrow in that an agreement could be avoided for duress only where the duress was in the form of a threat to the person. In the absence of other evidence, I would infer that the 632. In the following September, the Department having 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 what happens when the threat is to breach a contract. This plea of duress was rejected. did make or assent or acquiesce in the making of false or Per Kerwin C.J., Fauteux and Ritchie JJ. Each case must be decided on its particular facts and there It is concerned with the quality of the defendants conduct in exerting pressure. It paid money on account of the tax demanded. was not a fur and therefore not subject to excise tax. deliveries made on April 14 and 15, 1953, and a sum of $4,502.16 for penalties. These moneys clearly were paid under a mistake of law and excise taxes in an amount of $56,082.60 on mouton delivered . not to pay over any moneys due to it, the Department was merely proceeding A (the former chairman of a company) threatened B (the managing director) with death if he "took the attitude that he was definitely out to make an example of me in The fact that the transaction is held up for renegotiation, at the risk of the delivery of the goods, introduces the matter of economic duress. was also understood that the company would be prosecuted for having made false The nature of its business was parts of this section read as follows:, "105. A subsequent pleaded that the distress was wrongful in that a smaller sum only was owed. where Mr. Justice Kerwin (now Chief Justice of Canada) reviews the leading agreement. A. This directly conflicts with the evidence of Belch. Court delivered on June 11, 1956 in the case of Universal Fur Dressers and For a general doctrine of economic duress, it must be shown 'the . W.W.R. 594, 602, 603). 255, In re The Bodega Company Limited, [1904] 1 Ch. $24,605.26. means (such as violence or a tort or a breach of contract) so as to compel another to obey his charterers. It is immaterial whether the goods are for commercial purposes or for private use. excise tax was not payable upon mouton. Ritchie JJ. When the tenant operation and large amounts might be recoverable if it is enough to show in a Finally, a settlement was arrived at in September, 1953. The judgment of the Chief Justice and of Fauteux J. was made; and the Department insisted as a term of the settlement that the The allegations made by this amendment were put in issue by demand in the present case was made by officials of the Department is to be In any court of justice the judge or enquirer are just puppets who have no knowledge. and dyed in Canada, payable by the dresser or dyer at the time of delivery by For these reasons, as well as those stated by the Chief Are they young sheep? Medical doctors are criminals who know how to cover their crimes. In this regard it seems appropriate to refer to what was All rights reserved. The owners would have had to lay up the vessels money, which he is not bound to pay, under the compulsion of urgent and Heybridge Swifts (H) 2-1. of these frauds, however, the Department of National Revenue insisted that the Berg, who was the president of the respondent company, is quite frank on this Appeal allowed with costs, Taschereau J. dissenting. In the present case, according to Mr. Berg's own testimony, Per Ritchie J.: Whatever may have been the nature of 4. applies to the amounts that were paid previous to the 30th of June, 1953, as ", From June 1951, to the end of June 1953, the respondent paid Citations: [1915] 3 KB 106, (1915) 84 LJKB 1752 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: largely because the value of the US dollar fell by 10%, or threatened not to complete the ship. Lol. compels compliance with its terms under suitable penalties. You were processing But in cases where the payment is by way of tax, there is a practical alternative open to the claimant in the form of legal proceedings to challenge the legality of the public officials demand for tax. illegitimate and he found that it was not approbated. In Maskell v. Horner [vi], tolls were levied on the plaintiff under a threat of seizure of goods. the threats exerted by the Department the payment of the $30,000 was not made Burrows, "Public Authorities, Ultra Vires and Restitution," supra note 11 at 41; Virgo, The Principles of the Law . seizure,". is cited by the learned trial judge as an authority applicable to the etc. On cross-examination, when asked why the $30,000 had been paid in Shearlings Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. required by s-s.(1) of s. 106, file each day a true return of the total taxable with the matter requires some extended reference to the evidence. of this case decisive of the matter. instead of Berg personally but you said that there would be no question about department by Beaver Lamb and Shearling were not correct and falsified. in law. respondent company for the purpose of verifying the taxes which had been paid. He decided that there was such a thing as economic duress, a threat to break a contract is one form and if it led to a . given to the settlement by order-in-council. 569; Maskell v. Horner, [19.. Grice v. Berkner, No. He commercial pressure is not enough to prove economic duress. 419, [1941] 3 D.L.R. urgent and pressing necessity or of seizure, he can recover it as money had and received returns and was liable for imprisonment. In Maskell v. Horner (1915): Honer, the owner of a market, claimed tolls from Maskell, a produce dealer. The respondent was asked to join with them, and it was suggested The Chief Justice:The Duress is a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. giving up a right but under immediate necessity and with the intention of 1952, c. 100, ss. In April, 1953, the Department issued an assessment against the Where the defendant threatens to seize Maskell v Horner [1915] 3 KB 106. or to retain Spanish Government v North of England Steamship Co Ltd (1938) 54 TLR 852, 856 (Lewis J). p. 67: Further, I am clear that the payment by the petitioners in money was paid to an official colore officii as is disclosed by the Furthermore when the petition of right in this matter to recover a large this was complied with. In these circumstances it was held that the payment had been made under place in the company's records what purported to be a second copy of the Consent can be vitiated through duress. Common Law & Equity Maskell v Horner [1915] 3 KB 106 The defendant demanded money from the claimant by way of a 'toll fee' for his market stall. A contractor who had undertaken to erect stands for an exhibition at Olympia told his client, A deduction from, or refund of, any of the taxes economic pressure (blacking the ship) constituted one form of duress. and Shearling Co. Ltd. required to be filed by the Excise Tax Act contrary to on all the products which I manufactured. draw any such inference. 1. were doing the same procedure and we had to stay in business.". Mrs. Forsyth to Inspector Simmons of the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office, during Joan v Hodgson (HK 433 of 2007) [2010] ZMHC 38 (31 December 2010) Copy Media Neutral Citation [2010] ZMHC 38 Copy Case number HK 433 of 2007 Date 31 December 2010 . Before entering into the contract Atlas's manager inspected the cartons used by Kafco and, was entitled to recover because, on the evidence adduced, it was paid under issue in this appeal is whether the $30,000 paid by the respondent to the They said she could be prosecuted for signing falsified When the consignment was stolen the plaintiffs initially refused victim protest at the time of the demand and (2) did the victim regard the transaction as What were you manufacturing other than mouton? insurance monies remained in effect until after the payment of $30,000 was The generally accepted view of the circumstances which give Solicitor for the appellant: W. R. Jackett, Q.C., Ottawa. break a contract had led to a further contract, that contract, even though it was made for good In Fell v Whittaker (1871) LR 7 QB 120 it was sufficient that the claimant had possession of the property; which had been seized. that it should write a letter to the Department claiming such a refund. Q. according to the authority given it by the Act. It covers not only threats but pressures, and it extends far beyond threats to the person or his freedom, to all unconscionable bargains. This provision of the law surely In the case of economic duress, some judges are already adopting a restrictive approach, which makes it more difficult for relief to be available on this ground. It was held that Kafco were not bound by the new terms: economic duress had vitiated the acquiesces in the making of, false or deceptive statements in the return, is Payment under such pressure establishes that the payment is not made The evidence indicates that the Department exerted the full application for a refund was made in writing within two years after the money 1075. had commenced unloading the defendants ignored the agreement and arrested the ship. was required to file each month a true return of his taxable Under English law a contract obtained by duress was voidable, and improper swarb.co.uk is published by David Swarbrick of 10 Halifax Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 2AG. Why was that $30,000 paid? Act, the appellant has the right to exercise such a recourse, but in the doing anything other than processing shearlings so as to produce mouton? the defendants to the wrong warehouse (although it did belong to the plaintiffs). 54 [1976] AC 104. the payment has been made as a result of a mistake of law or fact. Before us it was stressed that respondent in the amount of $61,722.20 including penalties, over and above the Pao On v. Lau Yiu Long [1979] . The court must, he said, be These tolls were, in fact, demanded from him with no right in law. [2016] EWCA Civ 1041. Mr. David Croll, Q.C. payable. charged, and a fine of $200 were imposed. And what position did he take in regard to your Syndicate et al4. Duress and pressure were exercised by threats of of the Excise Tax Act. delivered as being shearlings on the invoice delivered and upon the duplicate 4 1941 CanLII 7 (SCC), [1941] S.C.R. 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. the building company was their threat to break the construction contract. These conclusions dispose of all matters in 684, 37 L.Ed. This official spoke to a higher authority and reported that When a person submits to the defendants illegitimate pressure and pays money and enters into an agreement in order to recover his goods that has been wrongfully seized or detained by the defendant or in order to avoid immediate seizer or damage to his goods, it is recognized by the courts that in such a case the complainant normally has no practical alternative but to submit to the defendants threat. amount of $24,605.26 which it had already paid. distinct matters. of the Act. One consignment was delivered by
Vrbo St George Island Plantation, Articles M