Casino Owner Sues Affiliated FM for COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage

DENVER — The owner of two casinos has sued Affiliated FM Insurance Co., demanding coverage for business interruption losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and civil authority shutdown orders issued in response to the virus.

In a May 22 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Monarch Casino & Resort Inc., which owns the Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, Nev., and the Black Hawk Casino in Colorado, contends that the presence of the virus, coupled with access to the casinos being barred, “is a type of physical loss or damage insured by the policy.”

“Additionally, …