Real Estate Force Majeure Clause In Chicago
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Force majeure events are usually defined as certain acts, events or circumstances beyond the control of the parties, for example, natural disasters or the outbreak of hostilities.
What Are Examples of Force Majeure? Events that could trigger a force majeure clause include war, terrorist attacks, a pandemic, or natural disasters that fall under the “act of God” category, such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane.
In contract law, force majeure (/ˌfɔːrs məˈʒɜːr/ FORSS mə-ZHUR; French: fɔʁs maʒœʁ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, epidemic, or sudden ...
Either Party shall be excused from performance and shall not be in default in respect of any obligation hereunder to the extent that the failure to perform such obligation is due to a Natural Force Majeure Event.
If a contract is silent on force majeure or if the event does not meet the definition of force majeure under the parties' contract, a party's performance may still be excused in certain circumstances under the doctrine of commercial impracticability.
Neither party will be liable for inadequate performance to the extent caused by a condition (for example, natural disaster, act of war or terrorism, riot, labor condition, governmental action, and Internet disturbance) that was beyond the party's reasonable control.
Black's Law Dictionary 12th ed. 2024. A force-majeure clause is contractual provision allocating the risk of loss if performance becomes impossible or impracticable, esp. as a result of an event or effect that the parties could not have anticipated or controlled.
For events to constitute the use of force majeure, they must be unforeseeable, external to contract parties, and unavoidable. Force majeure means “greater force” and is related to an act of God, an event for which no party can be held accountable.
Force majeure is a contract law concept in Illinois. A force majeure clause is a contract provision that excuses a party's performance of its obligations under the contract when certain usually express circumstances arise beyond the party's control.
Because the concept is foreign, lawyers who review or draft contracts governed by U.S. law should start with the assumptions that 1) principles of force majeure will not be implied in a contract that does not expressly provide for them, and 2) U.S. courts will interpret and apply force majeure provisions narrowly.
