Barbeque Restaurants Failed to Allege Direct Physical Damage The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, applying Texas law, affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of two insured restaurants’ claims for coverage in the wake of government shutdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fifth Circuit instead held that the insureds, Terry Black’s Barbeque L.L.C. and Terry Black’s Barbeque... Read More
No Business Income Coverage for Art Gallery and Dealership The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, applying New York law, affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of a claim for coverage made by a brick-and-mortar art gallery and dealership, holding that the art gallery suffered no direct physical harm as a result of New York’s statewide shutdown orders... Read More
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, applying Illinois law, joined four other U.S. circuits in dismissing various insureds’ claim for coverage for losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, the Seventh Circuit held that the plaintiffs failed to adequately allege physical damage or loss caused by the coronavirus and that several exclusions, discussed... Read More
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in an opinion written by Judge Leinenweber, applying Illinois law, granted American Family Mutual Insurance Company’s (“American”) motion for summary judgment, holding that the insurer owed no coverage to the insured for alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). The insured, the operator... Read More
Pre-Policy Knowledge of Contamination Bars Coverage The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, applying Sixth Circuit precedent, affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of the insured Arbre Farms Corporation’s (“Arbre Farms”) claim for coverage stemming from a 2019 recall of listeria-contaminated green beans. The Sixth Circuit found that a 2017 finding that the green beans were contaminated was... Read More
Apartment Tenants Coinsured Under Landlord’s Policy for Fire Damage The Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, in an opinion written by Justice Schmidt, applying Illinois law, reversed the judgment of the circuit court, holding instead that tenants of an insured property were coinsured for any fire damage to the property, despite their not being identified as persons insured under the... Read More
Loss Caused by Changes to the World Not Physical Damage The California Court of Appeal, Sixth District, applying California law, affirmed the Superior Court’s judgment in favor of the insurer’s demurrer without leave to amend, holding that the insured failed to plead any actual physical damage or loss caused by the COVID-19 virus. Here, the insured, Inns by the Sea,... Read More
Allegations of Direct Physical Loss Sufficient – Motion to Dismiss Denied The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, applying North Carolina law, denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, holding instead that the insured, Novant Health Inc., adequately alleged direct physical damage or loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The... Read More
Virus Exclusion Applicable due to Proximate Cause of Closure The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, applying California law, affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an insured’s claim for coverage of losses stemming from the state of California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The insured, Mudpie Inc., operates a children’s retail store which shut down following the... Read More
Closure Orders did Not Trigger Communicable Disease Coverage The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, applying Ohio law, affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an insured’s claim for coverage of losses stemming from the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The insured, Dakota Girls, LLC, operates a number of private preschools which were forced to close after the... Read More
