Ohio Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Sports Store’s COVID-19 Coverage Action

DELAWARE, Ohio — The owner of a Play it Again Sports store cannot recoup COVID-19-related business interruption losses from Erie Insurance Co. because it did not sustain “direct physical loss of or damage to” covered property, an Ohio appeals court has affirmed.

In a Dec. 7 opinion, the Ohio Court of Appeals, 5th District, agreed with the trial court that “immediate, material, tangible harm to or deprivation” of insured property is required to trigger coverage.

Sanzo Enterprises LLC operates a Play it Again Sports store that temporarily closed in March 2020 in compliance with government stay-at-home orders issued in response …