While UCLA and Under Armour continue their contract battle in court, Under Armour will continue to outfit the UCLA Bruins.
In 2016, athletic apparel company Under Armour contracted with UCLA for the then largest athletic apparel deal in college history. Fast forwarding to the coronavirus pandemic finds Under Armour invoking the force majeure (Act of God) clause in their contract. Fast forwarding again to June of 2020 finds UCLA suing Under Armour, stating that Under Armour tried to get out of their contract because of their own financial woes, not because of the pandemic.
In spite of all of this, Under Armour will outfit the Bruins this season because UCLA simply doesn’t have enough time to find another outfitter.
The contract’s force majeure clause states that such an Act-of-God event must continue for more than 100 days and “render the performance of this Agreement by the affected Party either impossible or impracticable.” Since the NCAA and Pac-12 Conference paused sports events because of the coronavirus for more than 100 days, Under Armour seems to be on firm legal footing to invoke the force majeure clause.
UCLA disagrees, saying that Under Armour’s performance under the contract was not impossible or impracticable and that the pandemic-caused disruption was not sufficient grounds to nullify the contract.
Unless the two organizations come to an understanding, the courts will have to determine if the pandemic actually created a force majeure situation for the athletic outfitter.
Here are examples of five real-world documents on RealDealDocs with force majeure clauses:
Three Party Cooperation Agreement
Supply Agreement
Distribution Agreement
Exclusive Option Agreement
License and Option to Purchase
RealDealDocs has millions of transactional law documents and clauses with thousands more added every month. Whatever your legal document needs, we’ve got you covered. Use our powerful full-text search to find exactly the documents and clauses you need.
Sources
UCLA Sues Under Armour And Says Force Majeure Doesn’t Excuse $200 Million Obligation
UCLA Sues Under Armour for Breach of Contract
UCLA sues Under Armour for terminating $280 million sponsorship deal with school
UCLA Will Still Be Outfitted By Under Armour Despite Lawsuit