From a recent Meetings and Conventions article: You've got a group going to Bali for an incentive trip in a few weeks, but an erupting volcano has shut down the airport -- and is causing mass cancellations well into the future. What recourse do you have? "This is a classic case of force majeure, and that means the parties to the agreement have no control over it," says industry lawyer and M&C contributing editor Jonathan Howe. For the purposes of a contract for any event, natural disasters that qualify under this clause would include anything that is an "act of God," a Biblical-sounding term that certainly fits when considering the impact of Category 5 hurricanes or severe droughts. For planners looking at substantial financial investments possibly going down the drain, what remedies do they have?
