Great Elephant Corporation v Trafigura Beheer BV and other companies [2013] EWCA Civ 905, [2013] All ER (D) 315 (Jul)
It was settled law that a force majeure clause had to be construed in accordance with its own terms. A force majeure clause was an exceptions clause and any ambiguity had to be resolved against the party seeking to rely on it, and the concept of being “beyond [a corporate person's] control” set a comparatively high hurdle since corporations usually did have a significant measure of control over their own business.
