Marlene Patricia Prasad v Hospital Products Limited

Marlene Patricia Prasad (the appellant) brought proceedings against Hospital Products Limited (the respondent) in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned the respondent's alleged breach of a deed of settlement and release, which the appellant claimed had been entered into under duress.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the appellant had established that the deed of settlement and release was voidable on the grounds of duress. This required the court to consider whether the appellant had been subjected to illegitimate pressure by the respondent, and if so, whether that pressure had vitiated her consent to the deed.

The Court of Appeal found that the appellant had not established duress. It applied the principles established in *North Ocean Shipping Co Ltd v Hyundai Construction Co Ltd* [1979] QB 705 and *The Sibeon and The Sibotre* [1976] 1 Lloyd's Rep 29, which require proof of illegitimate pressure that was a significant cause inducing the plaintiff to enter into the contract. The court held that the respondent's actions, while perhaps commercially aggressive, did not amount to illegitimate pressure in the legal sense. The appellant had received independent legal advice and had not acted under immediate and unavoidable compulsion.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the primary judge.