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Act of God Defence

This document discusses the legal concept of an "act of God" and how it is defined and applied. An act of God refers to events that are caused by natural forces, such as floods, earthquakes, or storms, that are beyond human control. Insurance policies and contracts often include clauses that limit liability for losses or damages caused by acts of God. To qualify as an act of God legally, an event must be unforeseeable, cannot be prevented through reasonable human care or foresight, and must be solely caused by natural forces without any human involvement. The document provides examples of how courts have ruled on cases involving acts of God.

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rajput Nihal singh
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245 views8 pages

Act of God Defence

This document discusses the legal concept of an "act of God" and how it is defined and applied. An act of God refers to events that are caused by natural forces, such as floods, earthquakes, or storms, that are beyond human control. Insurance policies and contracts often include clauses that limit liability for losses or damages caused by acts of God. To qualify as an act of God legally, an event must be unforeseeable, cannot be prevented through reasonable human care or foresight, and must be solely caused by natural forces without any human involvement. The document provides examples of how courts have ruled on cases involving acts of God.

Uploaded by

rajput Nihal singh
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A STUDY ON

ACT OF GOD

SUBMITTED BY:
RAMESH KUMAR

1ST YEAR BA LLB(HONS.)


REGD. ID.- 221FU01011

AN INTERNAL ASSESSMENT WORK ON ACT OF


GOD

SUBMITTED TO:
DR. PRAVEEN KUMAR
DIRECTOR
VIGNAN INSTITUTE OF LAW, VFSTR
Before coming to the defence scope first we need to understand the meaning of
Act of God.
What Is an Act of God?
An act of God describes an event outside of human control or activity, such as
a natural disaster like a flood or an earthquake.

In business, the phrase “act of God” is not associated with any particular
religion or belief system. Contractual language referring to acts of God are
known as force majeure clauses, which are often used by insurance companies.
These clauses typically limit or remove liability for injuries, damages, and
losses caused by acts of God.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 An act of God is an uncontrollable event, such as tornadoes, floods, or


tsunamis, not caused nor controlled by humans.
 Insurance companies often limit or exclude coverage for acts of God.
 Acts of God do not absolve people from a duty to exercise reasonable
care.
 Policyholders should review their policy for coverages and exclusions
pertaining to acts of God.
 In the U.S., flood insurance is offered by the National Flood Insurance
Program, which is managed by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).

understanding Acts of God


Events, such as floods, earthquakes, or natural catastrophes, trigger acts of
God. These are events considered uncontrollable by human intervention. If
contracts have force majeure clauses—meaning "superior force"—parties may
not be liable if the terms of the contract cannot be carried out.
It is important to carefully read how these clauses are written. Some clauses
may specifically indicate events, such as a pandemic or flood, that fall under its
guidelines. These clauses may also outline if they will offer a 50% or full
refund, or any other form of restitution.

What is considered an act of God varies across the country. When a contract
includes catchall clauses, this may assist in broadening the scope as to which
events qualify as acts of God. These clauses may include, "any other event
beyond the reasonable control of a party.”

The term “act of God” is especially relevant in both the environmental sector
and in drafting contracts. Because no human is responsible for an act of God,
raising the argument that an event is an act of God can function as a defence to
avoid liability. Nonetheless, many environmental statutes tend to narrowly
define an act of God which limits the use of this defence to the most extreme
cases.

Contracts frequently include an act of God clause, also written as force


majeure clause, to allow for non-performance in the event an act of God makes
completing the contract impossible. Furthermore, though less common than it
used to be, many insurance contracts claim not to
provide coverage/indemnification for acts of God.

In recent years, scientific advancements in predicting and anticipating natural


events have led some scholars to call into question the continued existence of
the act of God defences. Nonetheless, the wide range of court cases flowing
from the Covid-19 pandemic such as JN Contemporary Art v. Phillips
Auctioneers LLC successfully raise this defence to indicate that acts of God are
still at least somewhat relevant today.
Acts of God provisions, also called “Force Majeure” clauses, relate to events
outside human control, like flash floods, earthquakes, or other natural disasters.
Generally, these provisions eliminate or limit liability for injuries or other losses
resulting from such events. In contract law, an act of God may be interpreted as
a defence against breach for failing to perform based on the concepts of
impossibility or impracticality. When an act of God intervenes in the
performance of a contract, the promise to perform is often discharged because
of the unforeseen circumstance and the resulting delay, expense, or other factors
resulting in what would otherwise amount to a breach. For example, if someone
promises to be present and perform certain obligation on a specific day, but is
unable to do so because a large storm cuts off all practical means of
transportation to the job site, this may be considered an act of God that would
forgive performance. A refund or rescheduling may still be called for, but direct
liability under the contract might be avoided in all or in part due to the storm.
Act of God as defence
An act of God is a general defence used in cases of torts when an event over
which the defendant has no control over occurs and the damage is caused by the
forces of nature. In those cases, the defendant will not be liable in law of tort for
such inadvertent damage. Act of God defined as circumstances which no human
foresight can provide against any of which human prudence is not bound to
recognize the possibility, and which when they do occur, thus the calamities that
do not involve the obligation of paying for the consequences that result from
them.
Act Of God Or Vis Major
The 'act of God' defence is based on the tort law principle that liability must be
founded on a fault and that a person cannot be penalized where the fault is that
of a 'vis major' where all precautions were taken, and a casualty still occurred.

Vis major is defined, as A loss that results immediately from a natural cause
without the intervention of man, and could not have been prevented by the
exercise of prudence, diligence, and care.

According to Salmond an act of God includes those acts which a man cannot
avoid by taking reasonable care. Such accidents are the result of natural forces
and are incoherent with the agency of man.

Thus it is an act which is due to natural causes directly and exclusively without
human intervention, and that it could not have been prevented by any amount of
foresight and pains and care reasonably to have been expected from him i.e. the
defendant. According to Lord Mansfield, act of god is defines as it is something
in opposition to the act of man.
Elements Of Act Of God
Natural Causes:
An act of God is an uncommon, extraordinary and unforeseen manifestation of
the forces of nature, or a misfortune or accident arising from inevitable
necessity. An act of god cannot prevent by reasonable human foresight and care.

The effect of ordinary causes may be foreseen and avoided by the exercise of
human care. For example, the fact that rain will leak through a defective roof is
foreseeable by an ordinary man. In case of foreseeable causes, failure to take the
necessary precautions constitutes negligence, and the party injured in the
accident may be entitled to damages. An act of God, therefore, is so
extraordinary and devoid of human agency that reasonable care would not avoid
the consequences. Therefore in such cases the injured party has no right to
damages.
An Occurrence Not Reasonably Foreseeable
The basic and prime element of an act of god is the happening of an
unforeseeable event. For this, if the harm or loss was caused by a foreseeable
accident that could have been prevented, the party who suffered the injury has
the right to compensation. However, the damage caused by an unforeseen and
uncontrollable natural event is not compensable as it could not have been
prevented or avoided by foresight or prudence of man.

Moreover, courts are of the opinion that the act of God defence exists only if
the event is so exceptional and could not have been anticipated or expected by
the long history of climate variations in the locality. It is constructed by only the
memory of man i.e. recorded history. The courts may demand expert
testimonies to prove that an event was unforeseeable.
It is Impossible To Prevent By Any Reasonable Precautions And Absence
Of Human Agency Causing The Alleged Damage:
It means practically impossible to resist. Negligence constitutes failure to take
the necessary precautions. In an incident where a human factor was present,
even though the harm could not be prevented, the fact that the human factor
exercised reasonable care and precautions to prevent the harm has to be proved
if the defence of act of God has to prevail. If negligence is alleged and proved,
then the defence of act of God will fail. If an owner was negligent in properly
maintaining a tree that fell on a passer-by, he cannot be exempted from liability
by act of God principle.
Case Laws:

1. In the case of Nichols v. Marshland [1]the defendant has a number of


artificial lakes on his land. Extraordinary rain such as had never been
witnessed in living memory caused the banks of the lakes to burst and the
escaping water carried away four bridges belonging to the plaintiff. It was
held that the plaintiff's bridges were swept by an act of God and the
defendant was not liable.
2. In the case of Blyth v. Birmingham Water Works Co[2] the defendants
had constructed water pipes which were reasonably strong enough to
withstand severe frost. There was an unprecented severe frost that year
causing the pipes to burst resulting in severe damage to the plaintiff's
property. It was held that though frost is a natural phenomenon, the
occurrence of an unforeseen severe frost can be attributed to an act of
God, thus the relieving the defendants of any liability.

3. In case of Ramalinga Nadar v. Narayana Reddiar[3] the plaintiff had


booked goods with the defendant for transportation. The goods are looted
by a mob, the prevention of which was beyond control of defendant. It
was held that event beyond control of the defendant cannot be said Act of
God. It was held that the destructive acts of an unruly mob cannot be
considered an Act of God.
Conclusion:
Although the act of God defence- that a defendant is insulated from liability for
personal injury or property damages caused by a natural cause is rarely used, it
may become more common and general in the future if predictions of disastrous
weather events caused by global warming prove true. One prediction related to
global warming is that catastrophic weather events such as hurricanes, tornados,
and torrential rains will occur more often. All of these have the potential for
causing extensive personal injury and property damage and consequently
mental trauma.

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