Pallocci Donatella and another vs Yamuna Kanthi Stein – SC Appeal No. 08/2017-2025

In the matter of Pallocci Donatella & Palermi Luca (Appellants) versus Yamuna Kanthi Stein (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether a lease agreement for a tourist resort was frustrated due to damage caused by the 2004 tsunami. The court held that the tsunami constituted a vis major, and the resulting damage rendered the leased property unusable for its intended purpose, thus frustrating the contract under Roman-Dutch law principles of impossibility of performance. This decision reaffirmed the principle that a tenant is entitled to rent remission when prevented from using the property by vis major. The court found that the lease agreement’s clauses regarding repairs and damages were insufficient to cover the consequences of such an event.

Janak De Silva, J. delivered the jud