Loss of Use is Not ‘Physical Loss of or Damage to Property,’ Ga. Federal Judge Rules

ATLANTA — A Georgia federal judge has granted Owners Insurance Co.’s motion to dismiss a salon’s COVID-19 business interruption coverage action, ruling that there was no “direct physical loss of or damage to” the insured property, as required under the terms of the policy.

In a Jan. 5 order, Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia rejected K D Unlimited Inc. d/b/a The Artisan Gathering Salon’s argument that economic losses from inability to use property constitutes “physical loss of or damage” under Georgia law.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia …