More Posts

In a little over a couple of months, the COVID-19 outbreak has dramatically altered the landscape of business. Companies are struggling to cope with massive uncertainty and an array of unforeseen challenges, including everything from supply chain and revenue disruptions caused by reduced consumer demand, to staffing shortages, travel restrictions, business closures, and other such issues. At the same time, these companies are bound by obligations in a variety of transactional instruments and regulatory requirements developed in normal times—like purchase and sale agreements, agreed consent orders or decrees, and operating permits. Those transactional instruments presume continued performance in all but the most unusual of circumstances. Similarly, regulatory requirements at law demand strict compliance. In the wake of novel COVID-19, parties are increasingly pressed to find creative ways to address their inability to meet such requirements. While this is far from a “one-size-fits-all” exercise, three areas of potentially available flexibility are considered below.