Q+A with legal expert Nana Annan
Legal expert and wedding photographer, Nana Annan
Today the U.S. Center for Disease Control issued guidelines on mass gatherings and community events. The guidelines state that people should refrain from holding events with more than 50 attendees for the next 8 weeks (through May 3, 2020):
*Update, on March 16, 2020, the White House issued guidelines that state social gatherings should not include groups of more than 10 people.
FROM the CDC:
“Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies. These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.
Therefore, CDC, in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings,recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.”
I asked my friend and wedding industry colleague, Nana Annan, a lawyer and wedding photographer, for her insights on what this guidance from the CDC does and does not mean for wedding professionals working in the United States.
While Nana is an expert, this is not legal advice and should not be construed as such. Remember that laws and regulations vary by city/county/state/province/country. Please check with your own attorney for legal advice on your specific situation.
As always, we’re going to start with a bit of good news and focusing on the splendid:
Splendid Progress Worth Celebrating
We're an industry that makes our living by celebrating life's milestones, so I'm going to start each of these update posts with a few positive COVID-19 things we can all smile about:
GLOBAL RECOVERY RATE
The recovery rate is now more than 76,500 people, up from 71,500 this morning.
Understanding the March 15th CDC Guidelines on Limiting Events to Less Than 50 People
1. Is the CDC announcement a ban or just a recommendation?
FROM NANA:
The CDC, a U.S. Federal Agency, is making recommendations.
Local governments can use those recommendations to ban certain activities and impose harsher restrictions.
A recommendation can become a mandate in the public interest but the government has to say so.
2. Since it is not technically a ban, do wedding professionals have to follow it?
FROM NANA:
Guidelines don’t have to be adopted. They’re suggestions.
Unless businesses are ordered to close with an outright ban, they can decide what they want to do within these guidelines.
Other countries have BANNED non-essentials from gathering.
3. The 1st and 14th Amendments in the U.S. Constitution protect the right to peaceful assembly. Is this why the CDC isn’t banning larger events outright and only recommending limitations?
FROM NANA:
No, it would not be unconstitutional for them to enforce a ban.
The government can ban gatherings in the public interest.
Public health is one instance of public interest.
4. If someone held a wedding of 75 people would they face fines or other legal repercussions?
FROM NANA:
If the government (federal or local) has banned events of more than 50 people, then yes, people would face repercussions for disobeying the ban.
If it is a recommendation, then no, they would not face legal repercussions.
(A note from Liene: they would still likely face social repercussions and risk being publicly shamed for putting the people at risk.)
5. Can a contract’s force majeure clause be invoked because of these CDC guidelines or can it only be invoked if there’s a ban?
FROM NANA:
Force majeure can be invoked if it’s an act of God or man that causes a contract to be unfulfillable.
That’s not the case unless the government restrictions make it impossible.
A recommendation does not make it impossible. A ban does.
6. What is the difference between an act of God and an act of man?
FROM NANA:
Acts of God include earthquakes, storms, etc.
Acts of man include bombing, rioting, war etc. They are acts of man, but impact business and could potentially make fulfillment of a contract implausible.
7. Is COVID-19 considered an act of God or an act of man?
FROM NANA:
COVID-19 is considered an act of man.
It is not a “natural disaster.”
The issue is that people copy contracts online that are not legally sound and sometimes they only mention acts of God, which is not this.
Written by
LIENE STEVENS
Liene Stevens, the founder and CEO of Think Splendid, is an author, speaker, and award-winning business strategist. Armed with $2000, a healthy work ethic, and an undeserved dose of privilege, Liene bootstrapped Think Splendid from a scribble in a notebook to a successful wedding business consulting firm with a client list spanning 94 countries.
