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 South Dakota, as in many jurisdictions, an 'Act of God' refers to any event that is outside the realm of human control and cannot be predicted or prevented by reasonable measures. These events can include natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes. In the context of contracts, these unforeseen events may be addressed through a 'force majeure' clause. This clause is designed to relieve the parties from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise, making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible. The specific application of a force majeure clause depends on the language of the contract. In South Dakota, if a contract includes a force majeure clause, the interpretation of that clause will generally follow the plain language of the contract and the intent of the parties. If the clause explicitly includes events such as pandemics, riots, or terrorism, then parties may be excused from performance if such events occur. It is important for parties to a contract to carefully draft and review force majeure clauses to ensure that they adequately address potential scenarios and their consequences on contractual obligations.