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Force Majeure, Parade of Horribles, and Zombie Apocalypse

Ken Adams in one of his blogs about Force Majeure provisions wrote that lawyers tend to throw every possible word to deal with the uncertainties of the future(link in the comments). He termed it a ‘parade of horribles’ and argued that keeping mindlessly adding to the list does more harm than good as the other party can find holes in the definition to prevent liability.

The contract below illustrates the issue well. One of the grounds is Zombie Apocalypse. What if there is only a Zombie occupation affecting the use of services? Will it not be covered since apocalypse is specified? Will you wait for the WHO declaration of the apocalypse?

The problem with the 'parade of horribles' approach is that the horribles lack specificity and throw a lot of balls in court’s courts. Pun intended.


A better way is to keep the Force Majeure Clause general and insert carve-outs where you do not wish the parties to enjoy the benefit of Force Majeure.

Link to Ken Adam's article: https://www.adamsdrafting.com/force-majeure-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/

#contracts #law #disputeresolution
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