Force majeure and covid-19

The High Court has held that a broadcaster was entitled to rely on a force majeure provision to terminate a media rights contract as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact that both parties to the contract were affected by Covid-19 did not prevent the broadcaster from relying on the provision.

Force majeure

A force majeure clause is a contractual mechanism that typically excuses one or both parties from performance of a contract following the occurrence of certain events. When those events are outside of a party's control, the party may be released from its obligations under the contract.