Extreme meteorological conditions in agriculture can now be recognized as a force majeure situation. Such a decision was made by the Supreme Court of Lithuania in a case in which we represented a Lithuanian farmer against the buyer of agricultural products UAB Agrosfera.
And this is the first time in the country’s courts’ practice, when our firm’s Associate Partner Marius Tamošiūnas, Senior Associate Laimonas Stančikas and the team managed to prove that the farmer’s contract was not fulfilled due to unfavourable natural conditions, which were force majeure circumstances.
World climate change and the resulting extreme natural disasters do not bypass Lithuania. In the last few years, the country has repeatedly declared an emergency situation due to heavy rains or drought.
Until now, however, the prevailing view in agriculture has been that contract terms due to force majeure were a mere formality and it was not realistic for farmers to take advantage of these terms in the face of natural disasters. We are glad that the situation has changed and farmers have more legal opportunities to defend their interests.
Consult with us if you are not sure about the conditions in your contracts.
