Acting Schools Did Not Sustain ‘Physical Loss or Damage,’ Calif. Federal Judge Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a COVID-19 coverage action filed against Sentinel Insurance Co. by the owners of two Barbizon International Inc. acting and modeling schools, ruling there was no “physical loss or damage” as required by the policy.

In a March 31 order, Judge Thomas Hixson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that a “loss of functionality” of property does not constitute a direct physical loss of property without an external physical force that “induced a detrimental change in the property’s capabilities.”

However, the judge granted plaintiffs …