Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 28-2-402 (2026)

What Constitutes Duress

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 28. CONTRACTS AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS

CHAPTER 2. CONTRACTS

Part 4. Circumstances Which Affect Validity of Apparent Consent

What Constitutes Duress

28-2-402. What constitutes duress. Duress consists in:

(1) unlawful confinement of the person of the party, of the husband or wife of such party, or of an ancestor, descendant, or adopted child of such party, husband, or wife;

(2) unlawful detention of the property of any such person; or

(3) confinement of such person, lawful in form but fraudulently obtained or fraudulently made unjustly harassing or oppressive.

History: En. Sec. 2114, Civ. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 4975, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 7477, R.C.M. 1921; Cal. Civ. C. Sec. 1569; Field Civ. C. Sec. 754; re-en. Sec. 7477, R.C.M. 1935; R.C.M. 1947, 13-305.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2023 · leading case: Matthews v. Berryman, 637 P.2d 822 (Mont. 1981).

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Matthews v. Berryman, 637 P.2d 822 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 3× “Duress, defined by section 28-2-402, MCA, consists in: “(1) unlawful confinement of the person of the party, of the husband or wife of such party, or of an ancestor, descendant, or adopted child of such party, husband, or wife; “(2) unlawful detention of the property of any such…”

In re N.R.A., 403 P.3d 1256 (Mont. 2017). · cites it 3× “Section 28-2-402, MCA, a remnant of the Field Code, provides an antiquated definition of duress: (1) unlawful confinement of the person of the party, of the husband or wife of such party, or of an ancestor, descendant, or adopted child of such party, husband, or wife; (2)…”

Fronk v. Collins, 2011 MT 315 (Mont. 2011). · cites it 5× “Section 28-2-402, MCA; Matthews v. Berryman, 196 Mont.”

Sayler v. Yan Sun, 2023 MT 175 (Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “” See § 28-2-402, MCA (defining “duress” as conduct or decisions resulting from “unlawful confinement” of the subject, “unlawful detention” of the subject’s property, or lawful confinement of subject “fraudulently obtained” or “fraudulently made unjustly harassing or…”

Matter of N.R.A. & V.A.A. YINC, 2017 MT 253 (Mont. 2017). · cites it 3× “She testified that she felt pressured by repeated attempts of the 2 Section 28-2-402, MCA, a remnant of the Field Code, provides an antiquated definition of duress: (1) unlawful confinement of the person of the party, of the husband or wife of such party, or of an ancestor,…”

Matter of D.S., 2015 MT 23N (Mont. 2015). · cites it 3× “Section 28-2-402, MCA. The most recent edition of Black’s Law Dictionary is very similar to Montana law, defining duress as “the physical confinement of a person or the detention of a contracting party’s property.”

Scottrade, Inc. v. Davenport, 873 F. Supp. 2d 1306 (D. Mont. 2012). · cites it 2× “Mont. Code Ann. § 28-2-402 . The record reflects that Jim LeFeber traveled to Huse’s office at least twice while the will was being drafted, went to the funeral home to make his own funeral engagements, and, if one can believe Davenport, drove to her house in Missoula in August…”

State v. Cole (Mont. 1996). · cites it 3× “(the pleading of fraud and the pleading of conditions precedent); Section 28-2-401, MCA (circumstances under which 'apparent consent' will be deemed not freely given) ; Section 28-2-402, MCA (what actions constitute duress) ; Section 2 8 - 2 - 4 0 3 , MCA (what actions…”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 28-2-402(1) — 1 case

Fronk v. Collins, 2011 MT 315 (Mont. 2011). “Section 28-2-402, MCA; Matthews v. Berryman, 196 Mont.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.