direct physical loss News

Mars Loses Appeal to Undo Dismissal of COVID-19 Business Loss Claims

Petcare, food and candy company Mars Inc. has lost its bid to revive its claims against Factory Mutual Insurance Co. for business interruption losses it incurred during the coronavirus pandemic. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld the …

Massachusetts Appeals Court Upholds Restaurants’ COVID-19 Insurance Denial

In a ruling against an upscale restaurant chain, a Massachusetts Appeals Court has followed the recipe the state’s high court set forth in 2022 in ruling that the COVID-19 virus does not trigger business interruption insurance because it does not …

Ohio Supreme Court: Ransomware Did Not Cause Direct Physical Loss

A business owner’s insurance policy did not provide coverage for software damaged by a ransomware attack because there was no direct physical damage or loss, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled. “Computer software cannot experience ‘direct physical loss or physical damage’ …

Court Dismisses 32 COVID-19 Business Insurance Cases Against Erie Insurance

A federal judge has dismissed 32 lawsuits over COVID-19 business interruption insurance claims against Erie Insurance, concluding the claimants failed to “plausibly plead” that they are entitled to coverage under their Erie policies. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark …

Jury Awards $48.5M to Baylor Medical College for COVID Business-Interruption Claim

A Texas jury awarded the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston $48,529,961 for damages caused by COVID-19 in what appears to be the first jury verdict in a lawsuit that sought insurance coverage for lost business income and other damages …

Another State Supreme Court Rules No Coverage for COVID-19 Shutdown

The South Carolina Supreme Court on August 10 became the fourth state high court in the nation to rule that the virus that causes COVID-19 cannot cause a direct physical damage or loss covered by a commercial property insurance policy. …

Iowa Court Finds No Coverage for COVID Income Loss in 2 Decisions

The Iowa Supreme Court last week ruled in two separate decisions that COVID-19 did not cause a physical loss or damage that would allow a private golf club or a restaurant and bar to recoup income lost during COVID-19 shutdown …

Judge in North Carolina Favors Policyholders in COVID-19 Closure Lawsuit

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 …

Claims for Business Income Loss Due to Construction Dust Denied in Pre-COVID Case

In an opinion that could inform coronavirus business interruption claims now before various courts, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Florida restaurant is unable to collect on its insurance for business interruption losses that it says were caused …