A reflection on conflicts of interest and misappropriation of corporate opportunity under modern Company Law in South Africa.

A force majeure is generally defined as “an act of God or man that is unforeseen and unforeseeable and out of the reasonable control of one or both of the parties to a contract, and which makes it objectively impossible for one or both of the parties to perform their obligations under the contract.”

A voluntary association of persons is an entity that is useful for those interested in conducting a business for a public-benefit purpose. Namely, because it is relatively straightforward and economical to use. This article informs readers about a voluntary association of persons by discussing its origins, the applicable law and why it is valuable for a group of persons aiming to achieve a common objective.

A force majeure is generally defined as “an act of God or man that is unforeseen and unforeseeable and out of the reasonable control of one or both of the parties to a contract, and which makes it objectively impossible for one or both of the parties to perform their obligations under the contract.”

Most businesses have been struggling to stay afloat and some have considered cutting the number of their employees while others are totally closing down as they have not survived the COVID 19 lockdown period. Before deciding on totally closing down your business or company you might want to consider a business merger with a company or business that offers or renders the same goods and services as yours.

The disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic will have dire consequences for SMME’s, especially in the franchise sector. Franchisors need to consider measures to enable their franchisees to continue trading as “smoothly” as possible once the lockdown measures have been relaxed, while franchisees need to be compliant with their franchise agreements before expecting to receive assistance.

Force majeure is a common clause in contracts 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, strike, riot, crime, plague, or an event described by the legal term act of God (hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract.

COVID-19 could lead to substantial losses being suffered by parties as a result of non-performance, but reliance on force majeure in such cases will depend on how it has been defined in their commercial agreements and what steps they have taken to mitigate the losses.