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.
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.
The Force Majeure clause should clearly identify the obligations that will be excused in the event of a Force Majeure event. The clause may specify that all obligations will be excused or only certain obligations, depending on the nature of the contract and the parties' preferences.
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.
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.
What is a Force Majeure Clause? A force majeure (pronounced “forss ma-zhoor”) clause is a provision in a contract that allows one or both parties to excuse (or sometimes delay) their performance obligations if circumstances beyond their control arise. These circumstances are typically called “force majeure events.”
Sample Language 3 The Parties hereby acknowledge that while current events related to the current epidemic/pandemic are known, future impacts of the outbreak are unforeseeable and shall be considered a Force Majeure event to the extent that they prevent the performance of a Party's obligations under this Agreement.
In real estate, force majeure refers to a contractual clause that allows parties to suspend or terminate their obligations when certain events beyond their control occur, making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible.
Here is an example of a force majeure clause template: Force Majeure: Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance under this Agreement due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, government restrictions, wars, insurrections, or natural disasters.
Force majeure does not formally end until performance is no longer affected in the way described in the force majeure clause. For example, if the clause requires performance to be “prevented or hindered”, force majeure does not end until performance is no longer prevented or hindered.