A North Carolina judge has recently ruled in favor of a group of restaurants in COVID-related business interruption litigation, marking the first victory among thousands of similar lawsuits across the country. Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. granted summary judgment to the sixteen restaurants on their claim for declaratory relief in an order published in early October.

Like thousands of other small businesses, the restaurants sought coverage from their insurer, the Cincinnati Insurance Co., for their losses that stemmed from state-mandated shutdowns implemented to curb the spread of the virus. After being denied coverage, the restaurants filed suit against Cincinnati, contending that the government’s order that forced their closure was a non-excluded “direct physical loss.” Cincinnati argued that the coverage does not apply since there was no physical alteration to the property, a necessary requirement under their interpretation of the terms of their policy.

Judge Hudson Jr. ruled that such an interpretation makes other terms in the policy meaningless. He writes, “The policy covers ‘accidental physical loss or accidental physical damage.’ ‘Physical damage’ reasonably refers to an alteration, and Cincinnati’s interpretation of ‘loss’ would make it redundant with ‘damage,’ while courts must give every term in a contract meaning (1).” The judge added that at the very least, the dispute over the policy’s terms shows ambiguity, and any ambiguity ought to be construed in favor the policyholder. The policy also notably did not contain a virus exclusion, a change made by several insurers after the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Gagan Gupta of Paynter Law, an attorney for the restaurants, commented on the ruling. “Our clients and thousands of other businesses across North Carolina and the nation have paid untold amounts in premiums for business interruption coverage, which should provide coverage for the widely-known interruptions arising from COVID-19-related government shutdown orders. Judge Hudson’s ruling affirms that insurance companies like Cincinnati are dodging their duty to provide this coverage (2).”

If you think your insurer may be acting in bad faith regarding a business interruption claim, you may be entitled to compensation without ever going to court. Fill out the short intake form here for a free and no-obligation review of your case. We work with firms across the country to help assess the unique facts and circumstances of your claim, navigate claim-handling procedures, and explore any potential litigation claims that may be raised against your insurer so that your business can make it through this unprecedented time of uncertainty. We don’t receive any compensation unless you do.

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References

1.      https://www.law360.com/articles/1321752/nc-restaurants-1st-to-get-covid-19-physical-loss-coverage

2.      Ibid

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