Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd v Helicopter Charter Pty Ltd (1991) 22 NSWLR 298
Contract; vitiating circumstances; duress; threats to goods.
Facts: Hawker Pacific agreed to paint Helicopter Charter's (HC) helicopter for $5,200. The job was poorly carried out. HC complained and refused to pay. The helicopter was returned to Hawker Pacific for the defects in the paintwork to be repaired. When HC came to collect the helicopter it was asked to sign a document agreeing to pay $4,300 for the work done, and releasing Hawker Pacific from any further liability for the paint job. Believing it would not get the helicopter back unless it signed the document, HC signed. It then refused to pay and sued Hawker Pacific for defective workmanship.
Issue: Could HC avoid being bound by the signed document?
Decision: The document had been signed under duress and could be set aside as void.
Reason: In Australian law, it is clearly established that a payment of money is made under duress if that payment is compelled by unlawful acts or threats made against the payer's person, their property or their rights. The court held that the same principles apply in deciding whether a contract has been entered into under compulsion. Hawker Pacific's implied threat that it would detain HC's helicopter therefore amounted to duress.