It would take an act of God: Force Majeure Clauses and their increasing importance in the era of COVID-19

In this podcast, moderated by attorney Landon Van Winkle, attorneys Lauren V. Reeves and Eugene (“Gene”) W. Chianelli, Jr., discuss the basic operation of force majeure clauses in modern contracts: including explaining what force majeure clauses are, how they work, and why they are included in certain contracts. We make practical observations about the enforcement of force majeure clauses and some common pitfalls encountered in raising force majeure clauses as defenses. We compare and contrast force majeure with related defenses to contract enforcement, including impossibility, impracticability, and frustration of purpose. We also explore the increasing prevalence and importance of force majeure clauses in contracts in the COVID-19 era.