In an opinion last week, the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Cote’s decision (covered here) finding that the force majeure clause in a contract relating to an art auction was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Judge Cote had found that COVID-19 qualifies as a “natural disaster” within the clause, and the appellant argued that there was at least fact question as to whether the pandemic was truly a natural disaster, insofar as it may have been the result of a leak from a Chinese lab of man-made, genetically engineered viral material. The Second Circuit decided it need not resolve that issue, and seized on different language in the same clause about circumstances beyond the parties’ “reasonable control”:
Continue Reading Second Circuit: COVID-19 Pandemic Triggers Contractual Force Majeure Clause for Circumstances Beyond the Parties’ “Reasonable Control”