By Jessica L. Swadow, Esq. and Swata J. Gandhi, Esq. It may seem like standard practice now to add terms like “pandemic” and “epidemic” to force majeure clauses, but courts construe force majeure clauses narrowly. The more specific your examples, the more risk you run in litigation because your language will be narrowly construed. Some scholars suggest that it may be a savvy business move to eliminate force majeure clauses in their entirety and simply rely on the common law doctrine of impossibility.
