January 4, 2021
A wave of litigation over business-interruption losses caused by COVID-19 shutdown orders has started splashing into the appellate courts. Appeals of trial court decisions in at least 11 lawsuits have been filed so far, all but one of them by …
December 16, 2020
Are you tired of talking about COVID? I am. Are you as tired of the COVID business income coverage debates? I am. Because I’m so worn out, this article focuses on ONE, ok two, key policy provisions every attorney and …
December 2, 2020
The riots that took place in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area during the George Floyd protests caused serious damage to many buildings. Several building owners, to their dismay, found their property insurance policies failed to properly respond to the debris removal …
November 23, 2020
Policyholder attorneys pursuing COVID-19 business-interruption claims are hoping to persuade judges to accept a premise that many Americans appear to doubt: The novel coronavirus is physically present on property and poses an imminent danger to the public. Pleadings that state …
October 23, 2020
A judge in Durham County, North Carolina has handed down what may be the nation’s first dispositive ruling in favor of policyholders in a COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit. Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. ruled on Oct. 7 that closure …
October 1, 2020
Insurers have succeeded in dismissing COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuits in 17 out of 23 cases heard so far, with a growing number of judges finding that some tangible alteration of a property is required to trigger coverage under commercial property policies. …
September 8, 2020
Another federal court has dismissed a COVID-19 business interruption lawsuit, finding that a closure order does not constitute a covered “direct physical loss” and that the policy excluded damages caused by viruses anyway. The ruling by the U.S. District Court …
September 4, 2020
COVID-19 has forced the suspension of thousands of businesses, resulting in widespread economic loss. Many of the businesses that have survived are looking to their insurers to cover their losses. While Covid-19 is a virus, the economic loss sustained by …
August 12, 2020
A federal judge in Missouri said on Wednesday a group of hair salons and restaurants can sue their insurance carrier for business interruption losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which they say caused a “direct physical loss” to their premises. …
August 12, 2020
Fashion firm Ralph Lauren Corp. is suing its insurer to recoup what it says has been a huge drop of two-thirds of its revenues in the first quarter alone due to the pandemic. Ralph Lauren Corp. (RLC) maintains that Factory …