White House Authorizes Indemnification for Ebola Contracts

On November 13, 2014, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum authorizing the U.S. Agency for International Development to indemnify contractors performing Ebola-response contracts in Africa "with respect to claims, losses, or damage arising out of or resulting from exposure, in the course of performance of the contracts, to Ebola." This Presidential action is the latest example of how contractors may obtain contract-based indemnification for certain activities (previously discussed here, here, here, here, and here), including activities that pose unusually hazardous risk, and serves as a reminder to contractors engaged in such activities to request that such indemnification clauses be included in their contracts when appropriate.