Under Washington law an "act of God" is a defense to any breach of contract claim unless the contract allocates the risk for such events to a party or. A force majeure clause in a contract can excuse a party from performing because of external, uncontrollable forces."Failure to comply with a force majeure provision's notice requirements can preclude a party from using the defense. " Puget Soundkeeper All. v. It is common for parties to include force majeure clauses in contracts to delineate events that may excuse or suspend their contractual obligations. Force Majeure: This is a French term meaning "superior force. A force majeure clause protects your company from events, such as COVID19, that may make it impossible to fulfill your contract. Unlike some of the civil law jurisdictions, the United States (US) does not have any codified force majeure provisions in its statutes. "); Constellation Energy Servs.