What Can I Do When My Singapore Wedding’s Stuck in COVID-19 Limbo?

The global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a public health emergency of international concern. In Singapore, the government has acted swiftly to impose restrictions. At the time of this article, all gatherings have been limited to 10 persons until 30 April 2020, and all events of 250 people or more have been suspended until 30 June 2020.

The situation is evolving rapidly and we expect these regulations to be tightened or extended. One group that has been impacted are couples with upcoming wedding celebrations, as well as other events organisers. If you are in this position, you may be wondering whether you are entitled to cancel or postpone your event, without losing your deposit, or worse, being forced to pay the full agreed price to the venue and your vendors. This article is meant to be a simple guide to navigating the process.

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris & Selvam director Daniel Soo, please visit the firm website.

Mexico’s Federal Government Declares COVID-19 Health Emergency

On March 30, 2020, the Mexican federal government declared a health emergency and issued stricter rules aimed at containing the fast-spreading COVID-19 virus after the number of cases surged past 1,000 and the death toll rose sharply in the country. An important part of the statement made by the Mexican authorities relates to the classification of COVID-19 as a force majeure event, which may have an impact in contractual relationships throughout the country.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

Considerations for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses in Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic

Many small and mid-sized businesses are facing unprecedented challenges in dealing the COVID-19 pandemic.  In many states, “non-essential” businesses have faced complete shutdowns.  In the face of COVID-19, small and mid-sized businesses face myriad challenges and it can be overwhelming to try to tackle them with limited human and capital resources.  The below is a list of key risk-mitigation items that should be priorities for small and mid-sized businesses as they face remote working challenges and capital crunches. Continue reading “Considerations for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses in Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic”

The Time to Talk Is Now About Coronavirus and Construction in the UK

In an industry of seemingly ever-tighter margins across the board, it is perhaps unsurprising that the construction industry has fought to continue through the current coronavirus crisis as much as it has.  However, many in the industry have stopped work and shut down sites and, despite the current and perhaps somewhat over-optimistic view from the government that work can continue whilst still complying with social distancing rules, it seems inevitable that all non-essential work will stop very soon.

To read the full text of this post, please visit the Duane Morris Construction Law Blog.

Coronavirus and Construction Contracts

As you have undoubtedly heard, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting the global construction industry.

Notably, as of March 17, Boston halted all construction jobs in the city for two weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision has affected approximately 21.4 million square feet of new or renovated development across 97 projects. Other municipalities have implemented travel restrictions and shelter-in-place orders requiring individuals to stay at home except as necessary to provide certain essential business and government services. These domestic actions, coupled with tighter border controls and quarantines at the international level, will inevitably result in supply chain disruption and labor force shortages.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

COVID-19 Based Contractual Rows Not Inevitable, Claim Lawyers

Contractors should take steps that are suitably appropriate to manage the spread of Covid-19 first and foremost.

They are being urged to achieve between themselves and their employers an approach to coronavirus-related issues that is fair to both parties and avoids disputes down the line.

Guidance on NEC contractual matters came from UK-based lawyers working for the American legal firm Duane Morris. Continue reading “COVID-19 Based Contractual Rows Not Inevitable, Claim Lawyers”

Legal Implications for Cancelling Conferences and Events Due to COVID-19

By Dominica C. Anderson

Based on growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, large public gatherings, such as conferences and other events, are being cancelled at an increasing rate throughout the United States, and internationally. More than 50,000 people signed an online petition requesting the cancellation of the multi-day South by Southwest event in Austin, Texas. That and other conferences and large events are being cancelled daily. With at least 3,300 world-wide deaths, and approximately 200 confirmed cases in the U.S., large public events will continue to be cancelled for the near future.

Impacting the decision to cancel conferences and other large public events, large corporations are issuing policies (changing almost daily) such as: no nonessential travel; employees can attend conferences only if the conference has a travel ban from certain countries (i.e., you, employee, can attend the conference, but only if the conference bans attendance of people from certain COVID-19 troubled countries); and no attending public events larger than 10 people (last week the policy was 1,000 people or more). Most recently, companies have issued bans on guests being allowed onto their premises, and/or issued a mandatory work from home policy.

What are the legal ramifications of each of these edicts? Or of cancellations of conferences and other large public events? What happens to the contracts for each of these events, such as contracts with the attendees, the site, the vendors, the airlines, consultants, speakers, performers etc. What are the legal ramifications and what will be the financial impact from these cancellations? Will you be able to make an insurance claim to protect you?

Insurance companies are starting to see numerous notifications under Event Cancellation insurance. But will the cancellation be covered by your policy? Are you trying to submit a claim for cancelling an event due to the attendees’ fear, or event organizer’s fear of spreading or catching COVID-19 even though there is no ban on the event going forward? That may not be a covered claim.  While you may decide to cancel the event, just know that the cancellation may not be covered because the cancellation was not beyond the control of the event organizer.  Additionally, the typical cancellation insurance policy likely contains exclusions that come into play (e.g., the Communicable Disease exclusion – excluding coverage where fear causes a cancellation due to the World Health Organization’s world epidemic determination). Don’t assume your Event Cancellation Insurance will cover your expenses related to canceling.

Other insurance companies are seeing notifications of claims for Business Interruption coverage.   Presenting a covered claim under a Business Interruption Insurance policy may be difficult. The first question will be: Does the cause of loss qualify under the policy for coverage?  Recently, the UK made COVID-19 a registered notifiable disease to allow insurance claims to be filed. What will happen in the U.S.? And, what is the “loss”? Are there applicable exclusions precluding coverage? Unless you have a specific and unusual insurance policy,  recovering under an insurance policy for expenses due to COVID-19 may be very difficult.

These are just some of the legal issued to be sorted out in the coming months. But without recourse to insurance coverage, the contract disputes become even more key.

For more on Force Majeure Contract Clauses and COVID-19, see the March 4, 2020 Duane Morris Alert.

What Law Governs Force Majeure in Your International Supply Chain Agreement?

By Thomas R. Schmuhl

If a U.S. company has a sales or supply agreement with a buyer or supplier outside of the United States which has been disrupted or otherwise impacted by circumstances relating to the COVID-19 situation now garnering world-wide attention, determining whether or not force majeure applies may not be governed by traditional domestic U.S. law.

Since January 1, 1988, such international commercial agreements have been governed by the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods, commonly known as the CISG. The CISG is an international convention with the full force of federal law that preempts state contract law that would otherwise govern such commercial agreements, including both the Uniform Commercial Code and common law.  Under the CISG, a sale taking place between a seller in one country which has acceded to the CISG and a buyer in another country which has acceded to the CISG, will be governed by the CISG just as a sale between a buyer in New York and a seller in Illinois will be governed by the Uniform Commercial Code. Simply put, the governing law of the international contract between the buyer and the seller is the CISG when the parties are in different countries which have each acceded to the CISG.  Many of the countries most impacted by the COVID-19 situation (e.g. the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Canada) have acceded to the CISG.

In the present context of COVID-19, this means that whether the impact of the virus constitutes force majeure will be determined by the CISG unless, pursuant to Article 6 of the CISG, the parties to the contract have explicitly and clearly excluded the application of the CISG from the contract in whole or in part.  Article 79 of the CISG sets forth the standards for determining if a force majeure condition has arisen.  Those standards bear a resemblance (but are not identical) to the standards found in many commercial laws around the world such as Section 615 of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

One quick and obvious lesson to be drawn from this brief discussion is that is that the best protection available to buyers and sellers in an international context is a carefully drafted force majeure clause that will minimize the uncertainty that can arise from having to analyze real events like an epidemic in the context of the principles propounded in a state or nation’s commercial code or the international CISG.

Does COVID-19 Outbreak Constitute a Force Majeure Event?

Unforeseeable circumstances – such as the outbreak of coronavirus – that prevent a party from fulfilling its contractual duties may fall under the force majeure clause of that contract.

Force majeure clauses are specific to each contract and operate as a risk allocation mechanism to govern situations that are beyond the parties’ control, such as the outbreak of war or natural disasters. Whether the COVID-19 outbreak constitutes a force majeure event depends on the exact wording and scope of the provision in the contract. For example, if the force majeure clause:

  • expressly specifies epidemics, diseases or public health emergencies, then COVID-19 likely qualifies as a force majeure event;
  • covers “acts of government,” then travel bans may be covered.

The party seeking to invoke force majeure usually must show a causal connection between the event – the outbreak of COVID-19 – that made it effectively impossible to perform its contractual duties. The clause may operate to excuse or suspend performance of a particular contractual duty.

Some companies are providing force majeure notices to their contract partners. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade announced that it will offer force majeure certificates to help companies deal with overseas contractual requirements. The effectiveness of these certificates and notices will depend on the exact language of the contract’s force majeure clause.

If your contracts do not contain a force majeure clause, then the narrower doctrine of frustration of the contract purpose may apply. To qualify under this doctrine, the event must (1) be not reasonably foreseeable and (2) radically change the contract terms from what the parties agreed to.

Of course, there is no court guidance yet on how the COVID-19 outbreak may affect commercial contracts. The facts are still evolving. But as businesses prepare for the impact of the virus in the United States, they can look to the cases that arose out of past unexpected events like the September 11 terrorist attacks, previous changes in Chinese government policy or unprecedented weather events as a guide to how to deal with key contracts.

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

© 2009- Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP.

The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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