Opinion ID: 1133096
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Business Compulsion

Text: The court's instructions, as given, included some which would have permitted the jury to find for the defendants if they found business compulsion in this case. Despite the fact that such instructions were given, our view of the evidence compels us to conclude that it is insufficient to support any finding of business compulsion which would excuse the defendants from the guaranty contract. An essential ingredient of business compulsion, a term of art, is duress or coercion in the origin of an alleged legal right. London Homes, Inc. v. Korn, 234 Cal. App.2d 233, 241, 44 Cal. Rptr. 262, 267 (1965). Business compulsion is not necessarily established by proof that consent was secured by the pressure of financial circumstances. Kohen v. H.S. Crocker Co., 260 F.2d 790, 792 (5th Cir.1958). Ivories' lease at the Princess Kaiulani was not wrongfully terminated by Sheraton; it was merely scheduled to expire according to its terms. There was no evidence that Sheraton had obligated itself morally or legally to renew. The mere fact that Ivories' lack of planning permitted itself to be placed in an inconvenient financial position with limited choices for a new shop cannot and should not have the effect of a forfeiture of a legal right of Sheraton. Since there was an insufficient showing of business compulsion, no additional instructions relating to business compulsion, if indeed any instructions at all, should have been given.