Tag archives: Force majeure clauses

COVID-19 and Finance Documents: Could the Material Adverse Effect clause be triggered?

By Jackie Midlane on April 6, 2020 Posted in Banking

How does the COVID-19 pandemic affect borrowers and lenders and their financing arrangements? A Material Adverse Effect (MAE) clause is included in most finance agreements. It is a catch-all concept to capture unpredictable and unforeseen events or circumstances that would otherwise be difficult to incorporate into the agreement specifically. Broadly, a MAE clause covers a … Continue reading

Impossibility may be no defence if performance overdue (COVID-19)

By Siyabonga Mathe on March 30, 2020 Posted in General

As a general rule, a party is excused from rendering contractual performance if it becomes physically or legally impossible for such party to perform. But a defence of impossibility of performance will not succeed if, when the impossibility intervened, the performance was overdue. In such a case, the rule is that lateness perpetuates the obligation, … Continue reading

Force majeure and contractual obligations (COVID-19)

By Georg Kahle and Yasmine Wilson on March 23, 2020 Posted in General

COVID-19 and force majeure Will the corona virus (COVID-19) constitute a force majeure event under South African law? The answer to that is it depends. The virus has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation and is causing economic chaos on an international scale never seen before, due to the closure of … Continue reading

Legal implications of Coronavirus on global and local business

By Steve Chemaly and Malcolm Hartwell on March 7, 2020 Posted in General

The outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has affected many areas of business, and the legal implications extend far beyond the obvious sectors such as tourism and employment law. Click here to look at our publications for a range of insights on the impact of the pandemic if it continues to spread. Here are eight areas affected … Continue reading

Force majeure clauses – a ‘Day Zero’ respite

By Caleb Jones on March 6, 2018 Posted in General

Property developers are not immune to the water restrictions being imposed by the City of Cape Town and, in terms of the recently published Level 6 water restrictions, have had to reduce their monthly consumption of municipal drinking water by 45% from 1 February 2018. With day zero looming, contractors need to be aware of … Continue reading