French for “superior force.” A common clause in closing documents that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event, or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strikes, riots, crimes, or an event described by the legal term “Act of God” (such as hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations within the Agreement. In practice, most force majeure clauses do not excuse a party’s non-performance entirely but only suspends it for the duration of the force majeure. This can include transaction is both debt and equity.

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