This tornado damage to an Illinois home could be considered an "act of God" for insurance purposes in the United States, if the insurance policy did not specifically account for tornadoes.[1]
By contrast, other extraordinary man-made or political events are deemed force majeure.[7]
In the law of contracts, an act of God may be interpreted as an implied defense under the rule of impossibility or impracticability. If so, the promise is discharged because of unforeseen occurrences, which were unavoidable and would result in insurmountable delay, expense, or other material breach.
Under the English common law, contractual obligations were deemed sacrosanct, so failure to honour a contract could lead to an order for specific performance or internment in a debtor's prison. In 1863, this harsh rule was softened by the case of Taylor v Caldwell which introduced the doctrine of frustration of contract, which provided that "where a contract becomes impossible to perform and neither party is at fault, both parties may be excused their obligations". In this case, a music hall was burned down by act of God before a contract of hire could be fulfilled, and the court deemed the contract frustrated.
In other contracts, such as indemnification, an act of God may be no excuse, and in fact may be the central risk assumed by the promisor—e.g.,flood insurance or crop insurance—the only variables being the timing and extent of the damage. In many cases, failure by way of ignoring obvious risks due to "natural phenomena" will not be sufficient to excuse performance of the obligation, even if the events are relatively rare: e.g., the year 2000 problem in computers. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, 2-615, failure to deliver goods sold may be excused by an "act of God" if the absence of such act was a "basic assumption" of the contract, and the act has made the delivery "commercially impracticable".
Recently, human activities have been claimed to be the root causes of some events previously considered natural disasters. In particular:
Geothermal injections of water provoking earthquakes (Basel, Switzerland, 2003)[8]
As a general principle of act of God,[10] epidemic can be classified as an act of God if the epidemic was unforeseeable and renders the promise discharged if the promisor cannot avoid the effect of the epidemic by exercise of reasonable prudence, diligence and care, or by the use of those means which the situation renders reasonable to employ.[11]
which is not realistically possible to guard against
which is due directly and exclusively to natural causes and
which could not have been prevented by any amount of foresight, plans, and care.
UK – Scotland
In Tennant v Earl of Glasgow (1864 2 M (HL) 22) Lord ChancellorWestbury described a case as: "what is denominated in the law of Scotland damnum fatale — occurrences and circumstances which no human foresight can provide against, and of which human prudence is not bound to recognize the possibility; and which, when they do occur, therefore, are calamities that do not involve the obligation of paying for the consequences that may result from them."[12]
United States
In the law of torts, an act of God may be asserted as a type of intervening cause, the lack of which would have avoided the cause or diminished the result of liability (e.g., but for the earthquake, the old, poorly constructed building would be standing). However, foreseeable results of unforeseeable causes may still raise liability. For example, a bolt of lightning strikes a ship carrying volatile compressed gas, resulting in the expected explosion. Liability may be found if the carrier did not use reasonable care to protect against sparks—regardless of their origins. Similarly, strict liability could defeat a defense for an act of God where the defendant has created the conditions under which any accident would result in harm. For example, a long-haul truck driver takes a shortcut on a back road and the load is lost when the road is destroyed in an unforeseen flood. Other cases find that a common carrier is not liable for the unforeseeable forces of nature. See Memphis & Charlestown RR Co. v. Reeves, 77 U.S. 176 (1870).
One example is that of "rainmaker" Charles Hatfield, who was hired in 1915 by the city of San Diego to fill the Morena reservoir to capacity with rainwater for $10,000. The region was soon flooded by heavy rains, nearly bursting the reservoir's dam, killing nearly 20 people, destroying 110 bridges (leaving 2), knocking out telephone and telegraph lines, and causing an estimated $3.5 million in damage in total. When the city refused to pay him (he had forgotten to sign the contract), he sued the city. The floods were ruled an act of God, excluding him from liability but also from payment.
The phrase "act of God" is sometimes used to attribute an event to divine intervention. Often it is used in conjunction with a natural disaster or tragic event. A miracle, by contrast, is often considered a fortuitous event attributed to divine intervention. Some consider it separate from acts of nature and being related to fate or destiny.[13]
Christian theologians differ on their views and interpretations of scripture.[14]R.C. Sproul implies that God causes a disaster when he speaks of divine providence: "In a universe governed by God, there are no chance events."[15] Others[weasel words] indicate that God may allow a tragedy to occur.[16][17]
Others accept unfortunate events as part of life[18] and reference Matthew 5:45 (KJV): "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust".
^Art. IV (2) "Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be responsible for loss or damage arising or resulting from: ... (d) Act of God"
^Marine Insurance Act 1906 – RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF POLICY
^Bryan A. Garner (2001). A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. Oxford University Press. p. 918. ISBN978-0-19-514236-5.
^such as the closure of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway – The Bamburi [1982] I LLR3122
^"Beben nach Erdwärmeprojekt – Gericht spricht Schweizer Geologen frei". Der Spiegel. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
^Whitelaw, Claire; Robert Sanders (9 June 2008). "Javan mud volcano triggered by drilling, not quake". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
^Gordon D. Kaufman Vol. 61, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), pp. 175–201
^Starr, Samuel M. Tony; Roy, Alyssa B.; Leonard, Kaitlyn C.; Prober, Clare. "What the COVID-19 Pandemic Means for Force Majeure Provisions". www.mintz.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
^"Hugh Tennent v. The Earl of Glasgow - [1864] UKHL 2_Paterson_1229 - United Kingdom House of Lords - Judgment - Law". CaseMine. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
^"Introductory Session – Four Theories of Disaster". FEMA Emergency Management Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
^"Creation, Providence, and Miracle". Retrieved 20 May 2014.
^Sproule, R C (1992). Essential Truths of the Christian Faith. Tyndale. pp. 61–63. ISBN0-8423-2001-6.
^"act of God meaning". Theidioms.com. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
^Strobel, Lee (July 2012), Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering?, Church Leaders, retrieved 20 January 2013
^Robinson, B A (4 September 2005). "Why do tragedies happen?". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
April 26, 2023
other, uses, disambiguation, religious, concept, divine, intervention, legal, usage, english, speaking, world, natural, hazard, outside, human, control, such, earthquake, tsunami, which, person, held, responsible, amount, exception, liability, contracts, under. For other uses see Act of God disambiguation For the religious concept see divine intervention In legal usage in the English speaking world an act of God is a natural hazard outside human control such as an earthquake or tsunami for which no person can be held responsible 2 3 An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in contracts as under the Hague Visby Rules 4 or it may be an insured peril in an insurance policy 5 In Scots law the equivalent term is damnum fatale 6 This tornado damage to an Illinois home could be considered an act of God for insurance purposes in the United States if the insurance policy did not specifically account for tornadoes 1 By contrast other extraordinary man made or political events are deemed force majeure 7 Contents 1 Contract law 2 Tort law and delict law 2 1 UK England and Wales 2 2 UK Scotland 2 3 United States 3 In theology 4 See also 5 ReferencesContract law EditIn the law of contracts an act of God may be interpreted as an implied defense under the rule of impossibility or impracticability If so the promise is discharged because of unforeseen occurrences which were unavoidable and would result in insurmountable delay expense or other material breach Under the English common law contractual obligations were deemed sacrosanct so failure to honour a contract could lead to an order for specific performance or internment in a debtor s prison In 1863 this harsh rule was softened by the case of Taylor v Caldwell which introduced the doctrine of frustration of contract which provided that where a contract becomes impossible to perform and neither party is at fault both parties may be excused their obligations In this case a music hall was burned down by act of God before a contract of hire could be fulfilled and the court deemed the contract frustrated In other contracts such as indemnification an act of God may be no excuse and in fact may be the central risk assumed by the promisor e g flood insurance or crop insurance the only variables being the timing and extent of the damage In many cases failure by way of ignoring obvious risks due to natural phenomena will not be sufficient to excuse performance of the obligation even if the events are relatively rare e g the year 2000 problem in computers Under the Uniform Commercial Code 2 615 failure to deliver goods sold may be excused by an act of God if the absence of such act was a basic assumption of the contract and the act has made the delivery commercially impracticable Recently human activities have been claimed to be the root causes of some events previously considered natural disasters In particular Geothermal injections of water provoking earthquakes Basel Switzerland 2003 8 Drilling provoking mud volcano Java 2008 9 As a general principle of act of God 10 epidemic can be classified as an act of God if the epidemic was unforeseeable and renders the promise discharged if the promisor cannot avoid the effect of the epidemic by exercise of reasonable prudence diligence and care or by the use of those means which the situation renders reasonable to employ 11 Tort law and delict law EditUK England and Wales Edit An act of God is an unforeseeable natural phenomenon Explained by Lord Hobhouse in Transco plc v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council as describing an event which involves no human agencywhich is not realistically possible to guard againstwhich is due directly and exclusively to natural causes andwhich could not have been prevented by any amount of foresight plans and care UK Scotland Edit In Tennant v Earl of Glasgow 1864 2 M HL 22 Lord Chancellor Westbury described a case as what is denominated in the law of Scotland damnum fatale occurrences and circumstances which no human foresight can provide against and of which human prudence is not bound to recognize the possibility and which when they do occur therefore are calamities that do not involve the obligation of paying for the consequences that may result from them 12 United States Edit In the law of torts an act of God may be asserted as a type of intervening cause the lack of which would have avoided the cause or diminished the result of liability e g but for the earthquake the old poorly constructed building would be standing However foreseeable results of unforeseeable causes may still raise liability For example a bolt of lightning strikes a ship carrying volatile compressed gas resulting in the expected explosion Liability may be found if the carrier did not use reasonable care to protect against sparks regardless of their origins Similarly strict liability could defeat a defense for an act of God where the defendant has created the conditions under which any accident would result in harm For example a long haul truck driver takes a shortcut on a back road and the load is lost when the road is destroyed in an unforeseen flood Other cases find that a common carrier is not liable for the unforeseeable forces of nature See Memphis amp Charlestown RR Co v Reeves 77 U S 176 1870 One example is that of rainmaker Charles Hatfield who was hired in 1915 by the city of San Diego to fill the Morena reservoir to capacity with rainwater for 10 000 The region was soon flooded by heavy rains nearly bursting the reservoir s dam killing nearly 20 people destroying 110 bridges leaving 2 knocking out telephone and telegraph lines and causing an estimated 3 5 million in damage in total When the city refused to pay him he had forgotten to sign the contract he sued the city The floods were ruled an act of God excluding him from liability but also from payment In theology EditSee also Divine providence In Korah s Rebellion an 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld a sinkhole forms under the rebels The phrase act of God is sometimes used to attribute an event to divine intervention Often it is used in conjunction with a natural disaster or tragic event A miracle by contrast is often considered a fortuitous event attributed to divine intervention Some consider it separate from acts of nature and being related to fate or destiny 13 Christian theologians differ on their views and interpretations of scripture 14 R C Sproul implies that God causes a disaster when he speaks of divine providence In a universe governed by God there are no chance events 15 Others weasel words indicate that God may allow a tragedy to occur 16 17 Others accept unfortunate events as part of life 18 and reference Matthew 5 45 KJV for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust See also EditForce majeure Vis major Lawsuits against GodReferences Edit Insurance What exactly constitutes an Act of God CBS News 30 July 2015 Retrieved 7 July 2020 ACT OF GOD Definition amp Legal Meaning Black s Law Dictionary 2nd ed Retrieved 10 March 2023 Black Henry Campbell 1990 Black s Law Dictionary 6th ed Saint Paul Minnesota West Publishing Co p 33 ISBN 0 314 76271 X Art IV 2 Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be responsible for loss or damage arising or resulting from d Act of God Marine Insurance Act 1906 RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF POLICY Bryan A Garner 2001 A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage Oxford University Press p 918 ISBN 978 0 19 514236 5 such as the closure of the Shatt al Arab waterway The Bamburi 1982 I LLR3122 Beben nach Erdwarmeprojekt Gericht spricht Schweizer Geologen frei Der Spiegel 22 December 2009 Retrieved 28 November 2012 Whitelaw Claire Robert Sanders 9 June 2008 Javan mud volcano triggered by drilling not quake Retrieved 22 February 2011 Gordon D Kaufman Vol 61 No 2 Apr 1968 pp 175 201 Starr Samuel M Tony Roy Alyssa B Leonard Kaitlyn C Prober Clare What the COVID 19 Pandemic Means for Force Majeure Provisions www mintz com Retrieved 2020 03 31 Hugh Tennent v The Earl of Glasgow 1864 UKHL 2 Paterson 1229 United Kingdom House of Lords Judgment Law CaseMine Retrieved 24 June 2021 Introductory Session Four Theories of Disaster FEMA Emergency Management Institute Retrieved 30 December 2009 Creation Providence and Miracle Retrieved 20 May 2014 Sproule R C 1992 Essential Truths of the Christian Faith Tyndale pp 61 63 ISBN 0 8423 2001 6 act of God meaning Theidioms com Retrieved 30 December 2009 Strobel Lee July 2012 Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering Church Leaders retrieved 20 January 2013 Robinson B A 4 September 2005 Why do tragedies happen Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance Retrieved 30 December 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Act of God amp oldid 1149843463, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
