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Black’s Law Dictionary defines “force majeure clause” as “a contractual provision allocating the risk if performance becomes impossible or impracticable as a result of an event or effect that the parties could not have anticipated or controlled.” Among the countless questions that have been raised during the coronavirus pandemic, one that seems to pop up frequently is whether the coronavirus is grounds for allowing a party to avoid performing their obligations under a contract. The answer really depends on the language in the contract and how New York law interprets these clauses, which unfortunately, is quite narrowly.