Pa. Federal Judge Remands COVID-19 Action, Says State Court Should Resolve ‘Novel’ Insurance Coverage Issues

PITTSBURGH — A federal judge has remanded a COVID-19 coverage action filed by a Pittsburgh restaurant against Motorists Mutual Insurance Co., finding the action “raises novel insurance coverage issues under Pennsylvania law which are best reserved for the state court to resolve in the first instance."

In a May 19 order, Senior Judge Nora B. Fischer of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania explained that while legal experts are predicting a high volume of such cases, “there is not yet a body of case law developed by Pennsylvania courts on these issues due to the …