Viruses Do Not Cause ‘Physical Damage or Loss,’ Ala. Federal Judge Rules

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama federal judge has dismissed a restaurant and bar’s COVID-19 coverage action against The Cincinnati Insurance Co., ruling that it did not sustain “a direct physical loss or direct physical damage to” covered property, as required by the policy.

In an April 15 order, Judge Corey L. Maze of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama concluded that virus-related shutdowns do not cause physical damage or loss because viruses “can simply be wiped off the surface with disinfectant.”

The Woolworth, a Birmingham, Ala., restaurant and bar, closed after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey …