An Act of God is a natural force outside of human control (such as an earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane), and may relieve a party or parties to a contract or agreement from having to perform their obligations. Such Acts of God are often addressed in a force majeure clause, which typically appears near the end of the contract or agreement. A force majeure clause may also excuse a party's performance of its obligations for other reasons beyond its control, such as unavailability of products, riots, civil unrest, pandemics, and terrorism.

In Arkansas, as in many jurisdictions, an 'Act of God' refers to an unforeseen natural event that is beyond human control and cannot be anticipated or guarded against, such as natural disasters. In the context of contracts, Arkansas recognizes that such events may impede or prevent a party from fulfilling their contractual obligations. Force majeure clauses are contractual provisions that define the scope of unforeseeable events that excuse nonperformance, including Acts of God. These clauses must be expressly included in the contract to be effective. If a force majeure clause is invoked due to an Act of God or other events like pandemics or civil unrest, the party affected must generally show that the event was unforeseeable, that they could not mitigate its effects, and that it directly prevented them from performing their obligations. Without a force majeure clause, parties may still seek relief under the common law doctrine of impossibility or impracticability of performance, but this is a more challenging route. It's important for parties to a contract in Arkansas to carefully draft and review force majeure clauses to ensure they understand the implications of such provisions on their contractual responsibilities.