Parx Casino Owner Loses Bid for COVID-19 Coverage in Pa. Federal Court

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has awarded an insurer judgment on the pleadings in a casino and racetrack owner’s COVID-19 coverage action, ruling that the virus does not cause “direct physical loss of or damage” to property because it can be cleaned from surfaces.

In a Sept. 12 order, Judge Gerald J. Pappert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania further found the policy’s contamination exclusion bars coverage because “virus” is included in the list of “contaminants.”

Greenwood Racing Inc. and its subsidiaries own and operate a casino, racetrack and other gambling facilities in Pennsylvania …