1 Ga. App. 798 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1907
Kidd brought suit on three promissory notes, in the city court of Elberton, against Bond as maker, and Bond and Sartain as sureties. All of the defendants pleaded, that the notes were without consideration, and were made by the principal defendant and delivered to the plaintiff under duress. The plaintiff demurred to the pleas, (1) because the facts set up as constituting duress were not sufficient to show duress in lay; and (2) because the notes were signed by the sureties with full knowledge of the facts relating to the alleged duress, and they were therefore legally bound. The court sustained the demurrer, and, on the introduction of the notes, directed a verdict fox the plaintiff.
The question presented for our decision is, do the facts set out in the plea constitute duress, in law? Soon after the notes sued on were given, the maker filed an equitable petition in the superior court, alleging that the notes were obtained by Kidd under threats of criminal prosecution and duress; and prayed that he be enjoined from transferring the notes, and that they be’ declared void and delivered up and cancelled. The case came to the Supreme Court, on a judgment sustaining a demurrer to the petition, on the ground that the facts stated in the petition did not in law constitute duress; and that court affirmed the judgment. Bond v. Kidd, 122 Ga. 812. The pleas interposed to prevent the collection of the notes were evidently .framed for .the purpose of avoiding this decision of the Supreme Court, and the facts claimed to be sufficient to show duress are somewhat elaborated, but we do not think they are materially strengthened. Indeed the facts relied upon in the original plea of the principal defendant are substantially the same as in the equitable petition. An amendment to this plea, which was allowed, sets up the facts most strongly relied upon to constitute the defense of duress. These facts are substantially as follows: At the time defendant signed the notes sued on, the plaintiff claimed that the defendant had driven a horse, which the plaintiff had hired to him to make a
Do these facts constitute duress in law? For when duress is relied upon to defeat a contract, facts sufficient to show duress must be pleaded. Bond v. Kidd, 122 Ga. 812; Carswell v. Hartridge, 55 Ga. 412. The Civil Code, §3536, declares, that “Duress consists in any illegal imprisonment or legal imprisonment used
Mr. Justice Cobb in Bond v. Kidd, 122 Ga. 812, strongly intimates that a mere threat to prosecute for a criminal offense would not amount to duress. But we think that a threat to prosecute one for an act which does not make a criminal offense, and which the party so threatened knows does not constitute any criminal act, does not amount to duress. In Graham v. Marks, 98 Ga. 67, it was held, that “a plea attempting to allege that a promissory note was given, in whole or in part, for the purpose of settling a threatened prosecution for a criminal offense, is not legally complete unless it alleges facts showing that the person to be prosecuted was charged with having committed an act or acts constituting a crime or misdemeanor.” The threatened prosecution must be for an act either criminal or which the party threatened thought was criminal. A mere empty threat does not amount to duress. It must be sufficient in severity or apprehen
Without éxtending this opinion further, we hold that the facts set forth in the plea as amended do not constitute duress in law. The threat of prosecution and imprisonment was for an act which the party threatened alleged in his plea was “a pretended charge or pretended crime which he knew he had not committed.” With such knowledge on his part, he knew that he was in no danger from a criminal prosecution or of imprisonment, and his fears were without reasonable foundation. Entertaining the opinion that the plea does not allege facts which would in law amount to duress, it is unnecessary to rule on the question of duress as affecting the sureties. We affirm the judgment of the trial court in striking said pleas on demurrer, and in directing a verdict for the plaintiff. Judgment affirmed.