extortion

Question 1

extortion def

Answer 1

blackmail; demands backed by threats

Question 2

legal threat with illegal demand

Answer 2

Marion Macdonald (1879) 4 Coup 268
Facts: This case involved a threat to reveal the complainer’s so-called immoral conduct to friends and family unless the complainer paid the accused a sum of money.
Legal issue: The threat to reveal the immoral conduct wasn’t illegal.
Significance: It was the pairing of the threat and the demand of money that made it extortion.

Question 3

legitimate pressure

Answer 3

Silverstein v HM Adv 1949 JC 160
Facts: Management director of a landlord company approached the manager of a tenant company and told the manager of the tenant company that unless he paid the landlord manager a sum of money that he was owed, he would tell the landlords to dispossess the tenants.
Held: The landlord company manager was convicted. On appeal, this was upheld. This was extortion.
Significance: The court said that making a demand backed up by a threat is extortion unless the pressure is legitimate. Threatening to sue someone for money that you are owed is acceptable, for example.

Question 4

threatening legal action

Answer 4

Black v Carmichael 1992 ST 897
Facts: As above
Legal issue: The money they were threatening for was not owed to them.
Held: The court said that if the money was owed to them, then threatening to go to court would have been legitimate as opposed to doing what they did.

Question 5

what constitutes a demand?

Answer 5

Rae v Donnelly 1982 SCCR 148
The accused demand was that the complainer drop her claim for unfair dismissal, threatening to reveal that she had had a child outside of her marriage. This wasn’t an economic demand, but was still extortion.