Contract Validity: The Impact of Intoxication and Coercion in Legal Agreements
Case Background
Ed hired Becky to build a house, but before their meeting, Becky, feeling extremely nervous, drank a whole bottle of champagne and can’t remember much from it. Just before closing, Ed accused Becky of fraud and threatened to block the contract. His associate, a former stunt double for Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, stood outside the door for two hours to keep her from leaving. Ed pressured Becky to either sign a new contract for more money or face court. She signed but has since sought legal advice.
Assessing the Situation
Contract law has a list of conditions under which the transaction takes place and factors that can override its decision. When entering into a contract, the parties must use a set of rules because non-compliance with them can lead to the termination of even the signed document. In evaluating Becky’s case, it can be determined that the signed contract is invalid because the contract terms were violated, and one party pressured the other.
According to the case study, the following are the terms of the contract signing. Becky was the party who forgot some of the details due to copious anxiety and who also drank a bottle of champagne. This means that one party was not legally prepared to sign the contract, for she was not in total health and purity of mind (Miller, 2022).
In addition, in evaluating the second transaction between Ed and Becky, one can see signs of pressure from Ed since he invited a friend with him who is physically very strong (Prenkert et al., 2022). Obviously, under such circumstances, Becky was psychologically depressed, afraid of physical punishment, and could not fight back. Ed’s verbal threats should also be considered: he threatened to sue and assured Becky of cheating because of her alcoholic intoxication. This situation is not an example of lobbying because Ed used physical and psychological pressure; therefore, the transparency and honesty of the signing of the contract are violated.
Advice for Becky
From the above analysis, we can conclude the following. First, the terms of the first contract are questionable because Becky needed to meet the legal requirements of signing the contract (Prenkert et al., 2022). However, Ed saw this and probably could have influenced Becky, so the court must side with the injured party, Becky, in that case. Second, the terms of the second contract completely violated the requirements of signing the contract because physical and psychological pressure was applied (Miller, 2022). This left Becky with no choice but to sign the agreement because she was afraid of the threats from Ed. The court should also side with her as she was desperate in such a case.
As a lawyer on Becky’s side, I should examine and compare both contracts signed between Becky and Ed. I should ensure that the parties clearly state their claims and prove that Ed was only looking for personal gain in the second case. The contracts could have been legally enforceable if the terms of their signing had been consistent with the law (Miller, 2022). Since otherwise is observed, the following advice would be most rational for Becky.
She needs to reproduce as accurately as possible all of the events before, during, and after the signing of the contract. She should provide evidence that would indicate alcohol intoxication (e.g., a receipt from the store and statements from relatives) in the first case. The pressure will be a little more complicated, but it is possible to use a witness (Ed’s friend) as an opponent at the trial to provide evidence that he participated in the threats. In that case, the court is bound to side with Becky because she has suffered and suffered damages because of contracts that are not legally enforceable.
This case makes several conditions of signing a contract quite clear. The first is the need to be able to sign it: Becky was drunk and did not remember the terms of the agreement. Secondly, pressure from the side intimidates and threatens one of the parties: Ed brought a friend as a physical and psychological intimidator. The recommendation for Becky would be to file a lawsuit for breach of the terms of the contract signing with the collection of evidence.
References
Miller, R. L. (2022). Business law today – the essentials: text & summarized cases. Cengage.
Prenkert, J. D., Barnes, A. J., Perry, J. E., Haugh, T., & Stemler, A. (2022). Business law: The ethical, global, and e-commerce environment (18th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.