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Force Majeure Clauses At The Age Of Covid-19: How Should Courts Interpret Them And Why A Conservative Application Is Necessary, Dorothy Swagler

Global Business Law Review

A force majeure clause aims to define the scope of unforeseeable events that may excuse or delay a party’s performance. In the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID) pandemic, many parties to disputes attempted to turn to force majeure clauses written in boilerplate language. COVID is distinguishable, however, from other historical force majeure events because of its rapid global development and international economic impact brought upon by government restriction and access issues. In effect, these boilerplate clauses coupled with this novel pandemic, left parties in dispute ill-equipped to know whether their force majeure clause was enforceable. This resulted in a flood …