Can a settlement be set aside if an applicant was under duress at the time, he signed it?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from DS v. Bosco and Roxy’s Incorporated, 2019 HRTO 241 (CanLII):
While a settlement may be set aside if an applicant was under duress at the time, he signed it, the test for whether a person has signed a settlement under duress is high and requires an element of threat or coercion. While economic duress is a factor that may be considered, financial difficulties alone are not sufficient to establish economic duress. An applicant must establish that his need was so serious that he had no other option but to sign the settlement. See Kailani v. Securitas Canada, 2009 HRTO 1183.
Even if I were to accept that the applicant was experiencing some degree of job and related financial insecurity, and taking into account his medication expenses, economic pressure alone is not sufficient to set aside a release. See Sinnett v. Orlick Industries, 2009 HRTO 916, at para 24.
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