God`s act of justice can be as confusing and unpredictable as God`s actions themselves. Where does COVID-19 fall? There is a lack of jurisprudence that interprets the act of the language of God in relation to pandemics or viral epidemics. There is no doubt that the parties whose contractual performance has been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic invoke God`s action as a contractual or general legal defence and indicate that an unknown and unexpected natural phenomenon has occurred, so that their non-compliance with a contractual obligation should be excused. In the meantime, parties who want to enforce treaties or end liability can use the economic consequences of the epidemic and argue that the actual obstruction was not coronavirus, but its economic impact. Other events cited as force majeure could be an indication of the direction of the treaty: many courts interpreting the force majeure provisions will look at specific examples of force majeure events, in order to indicate the interpretation of broader terms, such as. B the Act of God. Therefore, the decision to decide whether a pandemic or virus outbreak can be an act of God could depend on the other misfortune that the parties would imagine to excuse the obligations arising from the Treaty. In all cases, it depends on the details of the language of the contract, the circumstances of non-compliance and the degree of evasibility. With respect to some legal outcomes? God knows. Alston- Bird has created a multidisciplinary task force that advises clients on the commercial and legal implications of coronavirus (COVID-19). You can view all our work on coronavirus in all sectors and subscribe to our future webinars and advice. There are different ways to advise and develop a treaty.
The parties should consider whether it contains the force majeure clause and whether it contains a pandemic. In this case, it would be necessary to carefully assess the facts, contractual provisions and legal principles of force majeure, including possible notice periods. Otherwise, it is proposed that the parties welcome a pandemic as a force majeure event and have provisions regarding the effects of invoking that clause. Finally, and not least, the parties must be vigilant and defend pragmatic fair trade standards, especially in times of exceptional circumstances that are currently in the world. Commc`ns Hunter. Inc. v. Panasonic Avionics Corp., No. 20-cv-03434 (S.D.N.Y. 2020) (Defendant supports force majeure`s defence against infringement by satellite communications providers, asserts that COVID-19 has excused the commitments to pay the master service agreement for satellite bandwidth capacity.) (01.05.2020 Complaint) Dynamic entertainment activity is not invulnerable by a paradigm.
What would happen, for example, if a production agreement required filming in Hollywood or the Spanish Canary Islands or next week in Mumbai? What if an artist couldn`t leave his place of residence for a show next week? What happens if Covid-19 forces him to force himself out? Force majeure, also known by lawyers and non-lawyers as the “Act of God” clause, is a French term literally translated as “superior force.” Its clauses are fairly standard in many business-to-business legal contracts. Unless you are in an area that is vulnerable to being disrupted by natural disasters or other “acts of God,” there will not be much control during negotiations on an agreement or transaction. The notions of force majeure and the act of God are intertwined – in fact, force majeure literally means greater power or superior violence. But not all events of force majeure are acts of God, nor the other way around. Instead, an act of God is generally identified as one of the many events that could trigger excuses for non-performance as part of a force majeure provision.
