Insurer Says Atlanta Restaurant Did not Sustain ‘Physical Loss of or Damage’ to Property

ATLANTA — An insurer has moved to dismiss an Atlanta restaurant’s lawsuit demanding coverage for COVID-19-related business losses, arguing that government stay-at-home orders did not cause the eatery did not sustain “direct physical loss of or damage” to their insured property or surrounding premises.

In a July 20 brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Allied Insurance Company of America further maintains that the policy’s Virus and Bacteria Exclusion bars coverage because the government stay-at-home orders would not have been issued “but for” the COVID-19 virus.

According to the complaint originally filed June 12 …