A 15 year old girl buys an 18 certificate DVD, a packet of sweets and a card for recharging her mobile phone from a local shop. She claims not to have enough money on her to pay for the goods there and then so the shopkeeper, who knows her parents quite well, tells her she can pay later. A week later she has still failed to pay up. Which of these goods are “necessaries”?

1.   ?    a) None of them
2.   ?    All of them
3.   ?    Only the sweets
4.   ?    The mobile phone card and the sweets
5.   ?    The DVD and the sweets

Assuming her parents refuse to do anything, what is the shopkeeper’s legal position if he wants to enforce payment?

1.   ?    There is nothing he can do as she is a minor
2.   ?    He can seek an order for payment under the Minors Contracts Act 1987
3.   ?    All the goods are necessaries so he can enforce payment based on Nash v Inman
4.   ?    He can seek an order against her parents under the Minors Contracts Act 1987

SmallCo has obtained a contract to supply BigCo with widgets by bribing BigCo’s purchasing manager. Is this contract illegal?

1.   ?    No, the courts would view the “bribe” as an ordinary commercial payment by SmallCo to increase its bargaining power with BigCo
2.   ?    Yes, because the contract was obtained by am illegal bribe so the courts will not enforce it
3.   ?    No, the contract itself is not illegal – but the manner in which it was obtained may have involved illegal actions by the individuals concerned (e.g. breaches of duty towards their employers)

True or false: the test for duress is subjective, not objective

1.   ?    True
2.   ?    False

Twisted & Co, a firm of solicitors, persuades an elderly lady to invest in a rather dubious scheme it has set up which will allow Twisted & Co to claim a very large amount of commission in the first 5 years and is only likely to achieve reasonable growth if the money is invested over at least 20 years. Could this contract be voidable and if so, on what basis?

1.   ?    Yes, because it has been obtained by economic duress
2.   ?    Yes, because it has been obtained by physical duress
3.   ?    No, it would be void (not voidable) because the elderly lady did not have capacity
4.   ?    No, it would be void (not voidable) as an illegal contract
5.   ?    Yes, because it has been obtained by actual undue influence
6.   ?    Yes, because it has been obtained by presumed undue influence

Which of the following cases is authority for the proposition that presumed undue influence does not arise in the context of a banker-client relationship?

1.   ?    Lloyds Bank v Bundy
2.   ?    Williams v Bayley
3.   ?    Atlas v Kafco
4.   ?    BCCI v Morris

True or false: if a contract has been obtained by duress, equitable remedies are available

1.   ?    True
2.   ?    False

What are the key conditions which must be met for a finding of economic duress?

1.   ?    a) The “victim” had no practical alternative
2.   ?    Illegitimate pressure was applied to the “victim”
3.   ?    There was a relationship of dominance
4.   ?    As in C but the dominance led the victim to enter into the contract
5.   ?    A and B