Businesses need to understand the liability they have or can
avoid due to the impacts and consequences of COVID-19. Here are
some of the key considerations to think about now:
1. Can I avoid performing a contract because of the
pandemic?
First you need to check whether your contract has a
clause for "impossibility/force majeure/events outside your
control". This clause is used to relieve parties of
their liability for non-performance where non-performance is due to
circumstances beyond their control.
If a contract contains such a term, the wording needs to be
carefully reviewed to check whether it offers the relief you need
in the situation you are relying on it for. To be useful against
the effects of COVID-19 the clause would need to cover epidemics,
pandemics, quarantines, acts of public/governmental authorities or
wider language such as an Act of God. Under English law, the value
of a clause to any party depends very much on the wording
