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ARTICLE · 30 JULY 2024

Legal Developments In Construction Law: July 2024

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A force majeure clause relieves a party from its contract performance when a specified event or state of affairs occurs. But that is not the whole story, as such a clause commonly provides, or it is implied, that the clause cannot be relied upon if the effects of the event...

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Richard Craven
Richard Craven
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1. Contract performance hit by force majeure event? What you do, and don't, have to do

A force majeure clause relieves a party from its contract performance when a specified event or state of affairs occurs. But that is not the whole story, as such a clause commonly provides, or it is implied, that the clause cannot be relied upon if the effects of the event or state of affairs could be avoided by the party affected exercising reasonable endeavours. But do those reasonable endeavours require the affected party to accept an offer of non-contractual performance from the other contracting party?

A freight shipping contract required payment in US dollars but, when sanctions applied by a US authority affected payment in dollars, the shipowner invoked the force majeure clause, claimed it was entitled to suspend performance and refused to nominate vessels for the contract, although performance was subsequently resumed, payment of euros was accepted and the euros converted

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This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.

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