Chef Matthew Kelly is one of the few restaurateurs who has fought property insurers over pandemic business restrictions and won, the Wall Street Journal reported. His establishments are part of a group of restaurants that a North Carolina state court sided with this fall. The insurer has appealed the decision, which found the plaintiffs were entitled to payouts under business-interruption coverage. “I’m excited that we’ve made it this far, but that excitement and the win does not translate into relief until the job is completed,” Kelly said. Cases such as Kelly’s are keeping hope alive that some small businesses may receive insurance money to help them rebound from government-ordered shutdowns. In hundreds of lawsuits across the country, mostly small businesses have sued their property-insurance companies for refusing to pay out “business interruption” claims tied to the pandemic. Many insurers say their policies contain clear language excluding virus-related claims, while most claims also haven’t met their policies’ criteria. Many courts have backed up the insurers in their denials of payouts, but businesses are making progress. Of the roughly 100 rulings in suits pitting businesses against insurers, about three-quarters have been in favor of insurers, according to a COVID-19 litigation-tracking effort at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
