Philly BYOB Had No ‘Reasonable Expectation’ of COVID-19 Coverage, Judge Rules

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia fine dining BYOB lost its battle for COVID-19 business interruption coverage after a Pennsylvania federal judge found it did not have a “reasonable expectation” of coverage from Firstline National Insurance Co.

In a March 4 order, Senior Judge J. Curtis Joyner of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found the “reasonable expectations doctrine” did not apply because neither the insurer nor the restaurant’s insurance agent engaged in any misconduct or made any misrepresentations that would have created a reasonable expectation of coverage.

Cadence, owned by Humans & Resources LLC, was a …