Since COVID-19 sparked government-ordered shutdowns in March, judges have dismissed more than four times as many business-interruption lawsuits as they’ve allowed to proceed, according to a preliminary analysis by the University of Pennsylvania Law School. But some plaintiffs are finding weak spots in the industry’s legal defenses, Bloomberg News reported. Christopher Walker, an Orlando doctor, is one of them. Though his policy — like many — contained a provision that Sentinel Insurance Co. contends excluded virus claims, Walker’s lawyer argued that the language used was ambiguous. A federal judge agreed, keeping the case alive after Sentinel sought a dismissal of the suit brought on behalf of Walker’s practice, UroGyn Specialists of Florida. The stakes are high for thousands of businesses. The outbreak has led to a surge in U.S. bankruptcies, including rental-car company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. Century 21 Stores said that it couldn’t survive after its insurer denied its business-interruption claim. But the pandemic is also squeezing insurers. In the second quarter — after the initial shutdowns — Chubb Ltd. reported $1.16 billion in COVID-19 losses. Munich Re said this month that coronavirus losses keep growing. Overall, the industry could face at least $100 billion in total underwriting losses from the pandemic, Lloyd’s of London predicted in May.
