Volcanic ash over Europe. Blizzards in the North- east. Flooding in the Midwest. If your association held a meeting in 2010, it could have easily been affected — or even cancelled — by unforeseen events, even if those events occurred thousands of miles away from the meeting venue. It may be
sunbathing weather in Phoenix, for instance, but a blizzard can
nonetheless be raging on the East Coast, stranding attendees
en route to your meeting. This can be further complicated by
today’s interconnected air transportation system; when O’Hare
shuts down, delays and cancellations ripple throughout the
country. In such circumstances, your association may have no
choice but to cancel or re-schedule its meeting.
Unfortunately, meeting vendors aren’t
always sympathetic to such plights, and
may still demand payment. For that
reason, it pays to be prepared for unpredictable events.
Although contingency plans are
important, equally critical to preparation are contracts with vendors. Specifically, contracts that spell out in detail
what your association’s liability is in the
event of unplanned circumstances.
Two contract clauses, in particular,
deserve attention: force majeure and
cancellation.
Supplemental Force Majeure
Language
If the unforeseen forces your association
to cancel or postpone its meeting, the
best protection is a well-written force
majeure clause.
The standard force majeure clause
allows either party to terminate the
contract if an unforeseen event beyond
their control — such as riots, acts of
God, war, strikes, civil disorder or acts
of terrorism — prevents them from per-
forming their contractual obligations. In
the case of weather delays and travel
disruption, however, vendors may still
be able to perform their contractual
obligations: The hotel can accommodate
guests; the caterer can supply food; and
security, audio/visual and other person-
nel can perform their jobs. The associa-
tion’s main contractual obligation — to
pay the vendors — also is still possible,
even when restricted travel prohibits
attendees from attending. For that rea-
son, standard force majeure language
may not be sufficient.
