NY Justices Expected to Help Clarify COVID Coverage Issues
The outcome of arguments before New York's top court Wednesday over insurance coverage for a restaurant operator's pandemic losses should help resolve questions over covered physical loss and damage in the state, experts said.
[...]
Lisa M. Campisi, a policyholder attorney with Blank Rome LLP, told Law360 that while CRO's arguments might be in the same vein as other policyholders that have lost pandemic coverage suits, that didn't make those arguments wrong.
She also said cases like Gregory Packaging Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America, included in Westport's brief as an example of a business that required "extensive physical remediation," were being wrongly interpreted. The remediation in Gregory, Campisi said, simply involved fan-blowing and water-washing for an ammonia leak.
The way courts have handled pandemic suits has been unfortunate, she said.
"Essentially, it's really as CRO says in its brief: It's a self-reinforcing echo-chamber," Campisi said in an interview.
To read the full article, please click here.
"NY Justices Expected to Help Clarify COVID Coverage Issues," by Eli Flesch was published in Law360 Insurance Authority on January 9, 2024.