Finding Coverage Where Once Was None: COVID-19 Cases

A colleague recently diagnosed with COVID-19 was inundated with solicitations from plaintiffs’ firms looking to file suit against the cause of the exposure. A restaurant forced to close filed suit seeking coverage for business interruption losses in Louisiana.

In case you didn’t know, COVID-19 claims are here. With more and more states ordering movie theaters, restaurants, bowling alleys, and other businesses to close, and more and more people testing positive, the claims are just beginning.

Lawyers on both sides of the “v.” are rushing to research how to assert and defend lawsuits based on a variety of theories, and for good reason.

Restaurant.org projected sales of $899 billion in 2020 for the restaurant industry. That number is certain to be slashed because of the pandemic. Restaurants will be closed for weeks and maybe even months, and many will shutter their doors for good.

Policyholders will face an uphill battle for coverage of COVID-19 losses under the typical commercial property policy, but astonishingly, the New Jersey legislature is already discussing a statutory means to shift these losses to the insurance industry.