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 Minnesota, 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. Minnesota courts generally enforce these clauses according to their terms, which means that if a force majeure clause is included in a contract and clearly covers the event in question (like natural disasters, pandemics, or civil unrest), it may relieve the affected party from performing their contractual obligations. However, the applicability of such a clause depends on the specific language of the contract. If the force majeure clause is vague or ambiguous, Minnesota courts will interpret it narrowly, looking closely at the events that are specifically listed in the clause. It's important for parties to a contract to carefully draft and review force majeure clauses to ensure they cover the types of events they are concerned about. 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, but this is a more difficult standard to meet.