Issue

Commercial—government-ordered pandemic restrictions—temporary business closures—"direct physical loss" met

Summary

In a claim brought by numerous bars and restaurants (plaintiffs) seeking insurance coverage for their loss of business when–during the COVID-19 pandemic–government-mandated restrictions temporarily limited the use of and access to their physical properties, plaintiffs were entitled to partial summary judgment on the issue of whether their losses were covered by their "all-risk" commercial property insurance or supplemental business income policies. Under each policy, any ambiguity in the phrase "direct physical loss" was construed in favor of the policyholders, and, here, plaintiffs sufficiently alleged direct physical losses where government-issued orders rendered their properties unusable for their insured purposes, and the policies did not specifically exclude viruses or contaminants from covered risks.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →