Yesterday, the Washington Post published an editorial regarding the current accusations being flung at incumbent Washington DC mayor Adrian M. Fenty, many of which have to do with allegations of rigged contracts. The contracts at issue mainly involve relatively small amounts of money for work on parks and recreation centers. The author picks up on an interesting contractual concept early in the editorial that is something with which we are all familiar, but very few of us could define: Undue Influence.
In contract law, undue influence is a concept that can be used by the non-influencing parties to void contracts in which they are involved. At its base, undue influence involves the concept of a person on one side of a deal using his or her power to force a person on the other to accept a contract. Typical situations in which undue influence appears include spouse-spouse, parent-child, priest-parishoner, lawyer-client, or doctor-patient, among others. In some cases, these involve fiduciary duties, while in others they may rely solely on the social power inherent in strong relationships. Whatever the situation, the party with less power can choose to void the contract based on undue influence, and undo as much of the transaction that has occurred since the contract was formed.
With regard to the Washington DC mayoral race, the potential for undue influence regards the fact that some of the contracts for parks and recreation centers went to friends of Mayor Fenty who work at firms that would undertake this work. There is no clear reason in articles detailing the controversy, however, that would give one reason to think undue influence is at work in this situation. From what I can tell, the friends of Mayor Fenty are simply friends who do not hold any extra power over him. That may mean that there is cronyism involved, but does not point to undue influence. For undue influence to be at work, those friends would need to hold some sort of actual power over Mayor Fenty, but that does not seem to be the case from the articles detailing the situation.
Undue influence can be a powerful tool for getting out of contracts that have been unfairly constructed, and should be considered in the case of any situation in which a person feels steamrolled by a person in a position of power over him or her. If you or someone you know thinks you may be in this sort of situation, please contact me to explore your options.
(Photo by humbertomoreno)
About Graham Martin
Graham Martin is a solo practitioner focusing on Contract law (including drafting, review, and litigation). He operates Martin Legal Services, LLC in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
