If a pandemic were declared a force majeure, would it have frustrated a contract?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Grant v. Waters, 2020 BCCRT 1148 (CanLII):
29. Even if I am incorrect about whether the pandemic would fall within the scope of the force majeure clause, I find that the contract would not have been frustrated. For a contract to be frustrated, it is not enough for there to be hardship, inconvenience or material loss. There must be a radical change in the nature of a fundamental contractual obligation that makes the contract impossible to perform (see Wilkie v. Jeong, 2017 BCSC 2131 at paragraphs 16 to 18). Given my determination that the contract was not impossible to perform, I find that it was not frustrated.
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