California Business Interruption COVID-19 Coverage Bill: A New Twist to Proposed State Legislation

California Business Interruption COVID-19 Coverage Bill: A New Twist to Proposed State Legislation

By: Edward M. Koch and Felix S. Yelin On July 2, 2020, an amended California Assembly Bill 1552 (Bill 1522 or the bill), which relates to commercial business interruption coverage of insured businesses during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, was referred to the California Senate Insurance Committee. Unlike other bills that various state legislatures are considering,…

Shuttered Businesses Seek National Consolidation of COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

Shuttered Businesses Seek National Consolidation of COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

By: Sean P. Mahoney, Michael O. Kassak and Eric B. Hermanson On April 20, 2020, two Philadelphia restaurants filed a petition with the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (the Panel or JPMDL), seeking to transfer and consolidate all COVID-19 business interruption insurance cases in federal court to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District…

Massachusetts Joins the Fray, Introduces Bill Forcing Insurers to Pay for COVID-19-Related Business Interruption Losses

Massachusetts Joins the Fray, Introduces Bill Forcing Insurers to Pay for COVID-19-Related Business Interruption Losses

By: Eric B. Hermanson, Anthony L. Miscioscia, and Timothy A. Carroll Before the ink could even dry on our latest alert, regarding Ohio’s proposed bill, we learned that Massachusetts legislators had introduced their own COVID-19 bill — making it the third such bill in the span of about two weeks. Doubtless it will not be…

Ohio Follows NJ: Legislature Introduces Bill to Force Insurers to Pay for COVID-19-Related Business Interruption Losses

Ohio Follows NJ: Legislature Introduces Bill to Force Insurers to Pay for COVID-19-Related Business Interruption Losses

By: Anthony L. Miscioscia and Timothy A. Carroll Yesterday, on March 24, 2020, following in New Jersey’s footsteps, the Ohio legislature introduced a bill, H.B. No. 589, “[t]o require insurers offering business interruption insurance to cover losses attributable to viruses and pandemics,” by which the legislature is referring to COVID-19. The bill provides that “every…

First Coronavirus Coverage Suit Filed For Business Interruption

First Coronavirus Coverage Suit Filed For Business Interruption

By: Edward M. Koch, Randy J. Maniloff and Marc Penchansky It wasn’t a question of if, but when. And the wait wasn’t long. Yesterday’s suit was filed in a Louisiana state court by a restaurant seeking a declaration of coverage for coronavirus-caused losses under a business interruption policy. [Cajun Conti, LLC, et al. v. Certain Underwriters…