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Personal Injury Law

Negligence

LegalSpeak: Duboue v. CBS Outdoor (La.App. 2008)

Upon review, we find that the defendants put forth sufficient evidence to establish that the plaintiff’s damages were caused by an act of God or, in civil law terms, force majeure. An act of God or force majeure is “an unusual, sudden and unexpected manifestation of the forces of nature which man cannot resist.” … To be caused by an act of God, the plaintiff’s injury must be due directly and exclusively to natural causes that could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care. This court has held that two circumstances must exist for the act of God defense to apply: (1) the accident is directly and exclusively due to natural causes without human intervention; and (2) no negligent behavior by the defendant(s) has contributed to the accident.



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