Judge Says Eyewear Boutique’s COVID-19 Coverage Action Belongs in Ariz. State Court

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a COVID-19 coverage action filed by a Scottsdale, Ariz., eyewear boutique, ruling that the claims arise solely under the Declaratory Judgment Act and should therefore be resolved by a state court.

In a Jan. 27 order, Judge Gerald McHugh of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania concluded that “the absence of a settled body of case law in Arizona weighs heavily in favor of declining jurisdiction.”

“On a general level, neither party has presented this court with controlling Arizona case law construing the language …