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.
Parties seeking to rely on force majeure are required to show and evidence (i) that the event is unforeseeable and inevitable; (ii) that the event is out of the risks and liabilities under the contract; and (iii) the impact of such event on the performance of their obligations.
There are generally three essential elements to force majeure: • tt can occur with or without human intervention • it cannot have reasonably been foreseen by the parties • It was completely beyond the parties' control and they could not have prevented its consequences.
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.
Force majeure clauses typically identify such events as excusable delays, allowing the contractor a time extension. However, these clauses are typically silent as to responsibility for delay costs and additional direct costs that result from the force majeure event. (h) Strikes or labor disturbances.
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.
Contractual force majeure provisions allocate risk of nonperformance due to events beyond the. parties' control. The occurrence of a force majeure event is akin to an affirmative defense to one's. obligations.
Related Content. 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.
The definition of "force majeure" generally includes "risks beyond the reasonable control of a party, incurred not as a product or result of the negligence of the afflicted party, which have a materially adverse effect on the ability of such party to perform its obligations".