One of the more intriguing concepts that we discussed over the year in SPMA 4P86 was focused on the term "force majeure." No, I'm not taking about the Golden Globe-nominated film of the same name that came out in 2014. I'm talking about the legal definition of the term.
According to the course textbook, Fundamentals of Contract Law, force majeure is defined as "a major event that the parties to a contract did not foresee or anticipate that prevents performance of the contract, and this terminates the contract. Such an event, like a natural disaster or a war, is outside the control of the parties and cannot be avoided with due diligence." In simpler terms, a major event that individuals could not see coming when signing the agreement can terminate the contract if the details of the contract cannot be performed.
One key element of a force majeure clause is the wording of the clause itself. In the clause, parties outline the events that could take place that could terminate the contract. According to Venable LLP (2011), judges determine the use of a force majeure clause with a narrow scope, meaning that events that take place have to either be specifically listed in the clause, or be similar to those in the agreement. This puts an emphasis on writing the clause, and specifically outlining possible events that could terminate the contract if they were to unexpectedly happen.
We will briefly take a look at some non-sport examples, and then raise a few scenarios where the clause could be applied in sport if there were some sort of major event to happen.
According to the course textbook, Fundamentals of Contract Law, force majeure is defined as "a major event that the parties to a contract did not foresee or anticipate that prevents performance of the contract, and this terminates the contract. Such an event, like a natural disaster or a war, is outside the control of the parties and cannot be avoided with due diligence." In simpler terms, a major event that individuals could not see coming when signing the agreement can terminate the contract if the details of the contract cannot be performed.
One key element of a force majeure clause is the wording of the clause itself. In the clause, parties outline the events that could take place that could terminate the contract. According to Venable LLP (2011), judges determine the use of a force majeure clause with a narrow scope, meaning that events that take place have to either be specifically listed in the clause, or be similar to those in the agreement. This puts an emphasis on writing the clause, and specifically outlining possible events that could terminate the contract if they were to unexpectedly happen.
We will briefly take a look at some non-sport examples, and then raise a few scenarios where the clause could be applied in sport if there were some sort of major event to happen.
Back in September of 2001, when the terrorist attacks took place in New York and Pennsylvania, contracts could have been put on hold due to the unforeseen events that took place on that tragic day in history. Or, the Boston bombings would be an event that would lead to the force majeure clause being put into action. The events that can take place can happen at any time, and can be a wide variety of things, which puts an emphasis on the writing of the clause that was stated above.
The University of Indiana provided a sample of a force majeure clause online at their website, and it can be found here for your convenience. As you can see, they specifically outlined the various events that can take place which would lead to the contract being terminated with the clause. This example is centered around customers and suppliers, and it briefly talks about the agreement in the clause. It looks at how the agreement can still be carried out within a certain time frame. In my research, the majority of the cases focused on suppliers and their customers, and it was hard to find any sport examples.
With that, one situation that I came up with where a force majeure clause could be put into place is for a boxing match. With the Manny Pacquaio / Floyd Mayweather fight coming up in May, it's a sporting event that could very well be put on hold due to an unforeseen event. Since the agreement is between two parties, it is something that could be terminated, or put on hold, if something were to occur. Since boxing is a one-on-one sport, it seemed like the most logical sporting event that could see the application of force majeure clauses.
Individual sports seem like the easiest spot for force majeure clauses to be implemented, but it could also happen to individual players who sign sponsorship agreements. If an athlete has to be on location to do something that was outlined in the agreement, and a natural disaster occurs that prohibits them from arriving on location to fulfil the agreement, then the force majeure clause could be enforced.
If you have any other examples of when a force majeure clause can be enforced in the sporting industry, leave a comment!
- T.B.
The University of Indiana provided a sample of a force majeure clause online at their website, and it can be found here for your convenience. As you can see, they specifically outlined the various events that can take place which would lead to the contract being terminated with the clause. This example is centered around customers and suppliers, and it briefly talks about the agreement in the clause. It looks at how the agreement can still be carried out within a certain time frame. In my research, the majority of the cases focused on suppliers and their customers, and it was hard to find any sport examples.
With that, one situation that I came up with where a force majeure clause could be put into place is for a boxing match. With the Manny Pacquaio / Floyd Mayweather fight coming up in May, it's a sporting event that could very well be put on hold due to an unforeseen event. Since the agreement is between two parties, it is something that could be terminated, or put on hold, if something were to occur. Since boxing is a one-on-one sport, it seemed like the most logical sporting event that could see the application of force majeure clauses.
Individual sports seem like the easiest spot for force majeure clauses to be implemented, but it could also happen to individual players who sign sponsorship agreements. If an athlete has to be on location to do something that was outlined in the agreement, and a natural disaster occurs that prohibits them from arriving on location to fulfil the agreement, then the force majeure clause could be enforced.
If you have any other examples of when a force majeure clause can be enforced in the sporting industry, leave a comment!
- T.B.