§ 3-50. When the service provider is not liable for compensation

This section gives the service provider an exception from liability for compensation (erstatning). The service provider does not have to answer for financial loss caused by exceptional circumstances beyond its control, if the service provider could neither foresee them nor reasonably avoid the consequences. There are two conditions: the event must be beyond the service provider's control, and its consequences must not have been foreseeable or avoidable. Only monetary loss (financial loss) is covered. The exemption also applies to loss that arises because the service provider was bound by other duties under or pursuant to law.

The exemption lasts no longer than the exceptional circumstances. As soon as they cease, liability may be claimed if the breach is still ongoing. Example: a service provider cannot deliver a service for a period because of an event it could not foresee or control. During that period, it is not liable for the loss. If the service has still not been delivered after the event is over, liability may be claimed.

The third paragraph extends this arrangement to subcontractors (those who, by agreement, contribute to the service provider's performance, see § 3-49). The same rules apply to them. In addition, a subcontractor is free from liability if the loss resulted from following an instruction from the service provider, it was reasonable to do as instructed, and the subcontractor can prove this.

In the chapter, this provision sits between the compensation rules and the rules on cancellation of the contract (heving): § 3-49 gives the customer (kunde) a right to compensation for losses that were foreseeable, and § 3-50 sets the limit for when that claim falls away. § 3-46 states that the sanctions do not apply to breaches of duty caused by circumstances the service provider is not responsible for. § 3-47 says the customer must give notice of complaint (reklamasjon) within a reasonable time. § 3-48 gives the customer the right to cancel the contract in the event of material breach (vesentlig mislighold), while § 3-51 and § 3-52 concern the service provider's right to cancel and its effects. Complaint handling and dispute resolution before a complaints board (klageorgan) are covered in § 3-53 and § 3-54.