Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Publication Title

Supreme Court Economic Review

Publication Title (Abbreviation)

S. Ct. Econ. Rev.

Volume

23

Issue

1

First Page

341

Last Page

351

Abstract

Existing literature on the contract law doctrine of duress identifies a number of tests to determine conditions under which a contract can be voided. No article provides a specific and formal economic analysis on the link between rent-seeking and the conditions under which allowing a defense of duress is wealth enhancing. This article shows that commitments made as a result of ex ante investments by threatening parties made solely for the purpose of transferring, rather than creating wealth, ought to be voidable. We discuss cases in which a test based on rent-seeking enhances efficiency where previously proposed tests do not.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/686483

Comments

First published in Supreme Court Economic Review.

Faculty Biography

https://law.fsu.edu/faculty-staff/mark-seidenfeld

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