Indiana Restaurant Owners Lose Federal Court Battle for COVID-19 Coverage

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal judge has awarded Citizens Insurance Company of America summary judgment in a COVID-19 coverage action filed by the owners of 12 Indianapolis restaurants, finding they did not sustain a “direct physical loss” of insured property.

In a Dec. 22 order, Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana noted that courts addressing the issue under Indiana law have unanimously held that economic losses prompted by or resulting from COVID-19 government shutdowns and restrictions do not constitute a "direct physical loss."

Plaintiffs are Café Patachou at Clay Terrace …