What is an act of God?...

Reading today that it may be hard to get refunds on disrupted airline travel due to the volcano apparently being an 'act of God' I wondered what the actual *legal* definition of an act of God is... presumably there is such a thing?

Re : What is an act of God?

Thanks for asking the questions as i wondering exactly the same thing!!! Be interested to know the answer.
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Re : What is an act of God?

Something that is outside of human control is an act of God... not sure what the exact legal phrasing would be however!

Re : What is an act of God?

Thanks Tim.

Re : What is an act of God?

The best example of Act of God is the yawning and some other acts like this.
These are those acts which are not willing by the human itself.

Re : What is an act of God?

Hey,

Here is the definition from Halsbury's Laws of England, with the cases stripped out:

"An act of God may be defined as an extraordinary occurrence or circumstance which could not have been foreseen and which could not have been guarded against; or, more accurately, as an accident (1) due to natural causes, directly and exclusively without human intervention; and (2) which could not by any amount of ability have been foreseen, or, if foreseen, could not by any amount of human care and skill have been resisted. The occurrence need not be unique, nor need it be one that happens for the first time; it is enough that it is extraordinary, and such as could not reasonably have been anticipated. The mere fact that a phenomenon has happened once, when it does not carry with it or import any probability of a recurrence (when, in other words, it does not imply any law from which its recurrence can be inferred) does not prevent that phenomenon from being an act of God. It must, however, be something overwhelming, and not merely an ordinary accidental circumstance.

The following, amongst other occurrences, have been said to be acts of God: a violent storm at sea, an extraordinarily high tide, an unprecedented rainfall, an extraordinary flood, an earthquake, fire caused by lightning, an extraordinary frost, an extraordinary snowfall, death, lunacy, and (in contracts of personal services) illness.

On the other hand, it has been held that the following were not acts of God: gnawing by rats of a hole in a pipe of a ship, through which the sea water came in and damaged the cargo, a fog, an ordinary fall of snow or bad weather, and fire not caused by lightning".

Hope that helps!

Re : What is an act of God?

This is interesting.
thanks for this stuff.
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