Covid

COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Coverage is Far from Settled in Pennsylvania

Needless to say, COVID-19 business interruption coverage has been a hot topic for insurers and policyholders alike. This past week, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas granted summary judgement in favor of policyholder plaintiffs and denied the defendant insurers’ motion for summary judgement in a class action lawsuit seeking coverage in Timothy Ungarean v. CNA et al. (further analysis...Read More

Only the Beginning? Pennsylvania Trial Court Finds Coverage for COVID-Related Business Losses

In a possible preview of things to come, in Ungarean v. CNA and Valley Forge Insurance Company, the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of a Pittsburgh area dentistry, finding its COVID-related business losses were covered. Ungarean sought coverage for business income, extra expense, and civil authority coverage. Following the denial of the claim, he filed a declaratory judgment...Read More

Kings County Suit Dismissed During Jury Selection Due to Mask Protocols (NY)

Just yesterday in Kings County Supreme Court, a plaintiff’s attorney expressed an inability to proceed with jury selection, while masked, due to inability to breathe.  Counsel asked for an adjournment of trial until June.   Not only did the Court deny the request, but dismissed the lawsuit outright due to counsel’s inability to proceed.   The transcript of the argument which lead...Read More

Another Covid-19 Victory for Insurers, This Time in New Jersey (NJ)

In a short, terse opinion, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled this week that owners of Wendy’s, T.G.I. Friday’s, Marriott, and Hilton franchises cannot recover for losses caused by Covid-19-related shutdowns. The decision adds to the growing amount of case law on this issue which has significantly favored insurers over policyholders. In Manhattan Partners, LLC v. American Guarantee &...Read More

Motion to Transfer Venue for Forum Non-Conveniens Cited COVID-19 Concerns in Philadelphia County

The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas recently granted a motion to transfer venue to York County, PA in the Arceo et. al. v. AMF Bakery Systems, et. al. lawsuit. The motion to transfer venue pursuant to the doctrine of forum non conveniens derives from rule Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1), which states “or the convenience of parties and witnesses the court upon petition of any party may transfer an...Read More

Suffolk County (NY) Operating Protocols – Effective February 22, 2021

As COVID-19 numbers seem to be at least be trending in the right direction, NY courts are preparing to resume in-person proceedings.  (For the time being, remote appearances will remain the norm, but it makes sense to be prepared for in-person litigation.)   Suffolk County has issued new protocols, which you can review here.  Effective February 22, 2021, the new protocols include the...Read More

Virus Coverage Doesn’t Always Mean Coronavirus Coverage (PA)

As the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19 insurance litigation gets more and more crowded, courts are becoming even more attentive to the language of the insurance policies at issue. In Ultimate Hearing Solutions II, LLC v. Twin City Fire Insurance Co., the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Court dissected an insurance provision titled “Virus Coverage” and found for the insurer based on a...Read More

Covid-19 Closures and the Reasonable Expectations of a Commercial Insured is still undecided in Pennsylvania (PA)

COVID-19 related insurance litigation has often left insurers with more questions than answers. In Brown’s Gym, Inc. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co., another open question of law in Pennsylvania is being looked at in relation to such a COVID-19 initiated case. Here, the Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County recently ruled that a case by a commercial insured looking to sue...Read More

COVID Court Ruling (NY)

Adding to the quickly growing body of COVID-related insurance case law, a New York federal judge recently held that an art gallery could not recover financial losses due to government-mandated closures, finding that there was no “direct physical loss” as required by the policy. The Guy Hepner art gallery in Chelsea had a policy with Sentinel Insurance Company which contained a “business...Read More

COVID-19 Relief and Liability Provisions

The latest round of federal COVID-19 relief fails to cover one major sticking point in the negotiations: liability. The GOP spent months attempting to integrate a provision limiting liability for COVID-related lawsuits into the relief package, insisting that a one-year statute of limitations and limited types of permissible claims were the only way to truly protect businesses and other...Read More