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duress

Duress refers to a situation where one person makes unlawful  threats or otherwise engages in coercive behavior that causes another person to commit acts that they would otherwise not commit. 

In McCord v. Goode, 308 S.W.3d 409 (Tex. App. 2010) , the Court defined duress as “unlawful conduct or a threat of unlawful conduct of such a character as to destroy the other party's exercise of free will and judgment…the threat must be imminent and the party must have no present means of protection.” A similar definition was utilized by the Court in the case of Williams v. Williams, 939 So. 2d 1154 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2006) , in which the Court noted that duress “is a condition of mind produced by an improper external pressure or influence that practically destroys the free agency of a party and causes him to do an act or make a contract not of his own volition.”

In criminal law , duress is used as an affirmative defense to a crime , and a defendant bears the burden of proof to present that their alleged action was compelled by a reasonable threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury. If there was a reasonable chance of escaping the threat, the defendant’s duress defense likely fails.

In contract law, duress renders a contract voidable .

[Last reviewed in November of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team
] 

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