Hudson Marine contracted with Thomas Miller to restore an underwater reef for a fixed price. Hurricanes struck during the work, expanding the project scope beyond what the contract covered. The court ruled the contract terminated automatically due to the severe weather provision, so neither party breached. Hudson recovered damages for work completed before the hurricanes (based on percentage of contract value) plus quantum meruit (fair market value) for work done after the contract ended.
Force majeure clauses can terminate a contract automatically—review your contract's severe weather language to understand when work obligations end and what happens to payment
When a contract terminates due to force majeure, you may still recover for work already performed, but you'll likely get quantum meruit (reasonable value) rather than full contract rates for post-termination work