Calif. Taco Shops Lose Bid for COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge has dismissed a COVID-19 business interruption coverage action filed against Century-National Insurance Co. by the owners of several San Diego taco shops, ruling that the losses were not caused by a “direct physical loss of or damage to” property.

In a Jan. 22 order, Judge Marilyn Huff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California explained that under state law, “losses from inability to use property do not amount to ‘direct physical loss of or damage to property’ within the ordinary and popular meaning of that phrase.”

Plaintiffs Unmasked Management, …