As parties to construction contracts continue to navigate the
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we highlight below our top five
things to look for in construction contract clauses dealing with
COVID-19.
1. How are COVID-19 pandemic impacts addressed in the
contract?
For contracts finalized pre-COVID-19, the impacts of the
pandemic are most commonly captured by the existing force
majeure clause. Post-COVID-19, the trend has been to move
COVID-19 out of the force majeure clause to its own
section. This makes sense. Even though many elements of a typical
force majeure clause would apply to the pandemic, the
remedies applicable to COVID-19 impacts as well as some contractual
elements may be different.
