Frustration

Where a serious event occurs after the formation of a contract which is both unexpected (so that any contractual force majeure provisions do not cover it) and beyond the control of the parties, which renders it physically or commercially impossible to fulfil the contract, or transforms the obligation to perform into a radically different obligation from that undertaken at the moment of entry into the contract. This is a common law principle and the courts apply it as narrowly as possible.

For a note outlining the rules governing the doctrine of frustration, see Practice note, Contracts: frustration.