I'm with The Professor on this one ...
I don't think that qualifies as "blackmail".
Hypothetically speaking, IMHO, if someone demands a BOD position in exchange for, say, not continuing to push / pursue an open lawsuit against the company, I do not believe that qualifies as blackmail. That sounds more like extorsion to me.
Also, per The Professor, hypothetically speaking, while having an open lawsuit against a company does not disqualify someone (say, someone named Dave) from being appointed as an Independent Director on the BOD of said company, unfortunately, having a $10 contract (no longer in effect) with a company does disqualify someone (say, someone named Chester) from being appointed as an Independent Director on the BOD of said company. Very confusing, but we all can't be as brilliant as The Professor.