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 Delaware, as in many jurisdictions, an 'Act of God' refers to any event that is outside the control of the parties and could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care. This concept is often encapsulated in contracts through a 'force majeure' clause. Delaware courts generally enforce these clauses according to their terms, which means that if a force majeure clause specifically includes natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes, a party may be excused from performing contractual obligations if such an event occurs. The clause may also list other extraordinary events such as pandemics, riots, or terrorism. It is important for parties to a contract to carefully negotiate and draft these clauses to ensure they cover the types of events they are concerned about. If a force majeure clause is invoked, the party claiming relief is typically required to show that the event was unforeseeable and that there were no reasonable steps that could have been taken to mitigate its effects. If a contract does not contain a force majeure clause, parties may still seek relief under the common law doctrine of impossibility or impracticability of performance, though these are more difficult to prove.