What had long been an afterthought in most lease agreements has been spotlighted the past two years as tenants, property managers and landlords wrestled with ‘force majeure.’

In its most basic interpretation, ‘Force Majeure’ translates to a superior force.’ Its use can be traced back to Roman law, which incorporated the term ‘vis major’ and determined “possibility” was the limit of obligations. Today, the clause included in many contracts “is meant to protect the parties in the event that a contract cannot be performed due to causes which are outside the control of the parties and could not be avoided by the exercise of due care,” according to Black’s Law Dictionary.

“The benefit of a force majeure clause is that it allows the parties to fashion a rational allocation of the risk imposed by unknown and uncontrollable events,” says Paula M. Bagger, Principal at Bagger Law. “In an ideal world, in which the parties have equal bargaining power and (importantly) are paying equally close attention to the entire contract, including the “boilerplate” during negotiations, a force majeure clause allows the parties to select a resolution that works best for their situation.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.