Force Majeur in Sport Event Management

Today, I decided I would create a blog post about what is called a force majeur, and where you would see this contract clause in sport. Force majeur means “a superior force” in French, and this is literally what it means in contract law as well. A force majeur is an uncertain event, or an act of God, that occurs preventing someone from performing their end of the contract. You do not hear many legal issues within sport revolving around force majeur. Although, force majeur is an important part within event management, and many sport organizations may use force majeur clauses within their contracts. When sport organizations are unable to hold their end of the bargain for their sponsors due to an unforeseen event, a force majeur will discontinue the contract. 

There are many past examples which can be referred to. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the committee managing the Ryder Cup decided to postpone the event which was to occur within the same month to the following year. In order to avoid liability for sudden cancellation, they would have needed a force majeur clause within their contracts with their sponsors. More recently in 2012, New York City cancelled their annual marathon because Hurricane Sandy hit a week prior, and the city needed to rebound from the damages. The organizers of the marathon would have had a force majeur clause within their contracts with their sponsors to limit their liability. These are great real life examples where force majeur would be seen in event management. 

Sources

http://www.britishsportslaw.org/resources/201452111754_BASL_VOL21_ISS_2_Naidoo_OBrien.pdf