Mich. Restaurant Owners Can’t Recoup COVID-19 Losses from Insurer, 6th Cir. Affirms

CINCINNATI — The owner of two Michigan restaurants cannot recoup COVID-19-related business interruption losses from The Cincinnati Insurance Co. because it did not sustain “direct physical loss” or “direct physical damage” to property, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed.

On Feb. 23, the appellate panel noted that while the Michigan Supreme Court has not opined on the question, the Michigan Court of Appeals, in Gavrildes Mgmt. Co. v. Mich. Ins. Co., recently ruled that the term “direct physical loss” requires a plaintiff to demonstrate “either destruction of the property or the owner’s dispossession to show ‘loss’ and …