Virus Exclusion Defeats S.C. Law Firm’s Bid for COVID-19 Coverage

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A South Carolina federal judge has granted Twin City Fire Insurance Co.’s motion to dismiss a law firm’s COVID-19 insurance action, ruling that the policy’s Virus Exclusion bars coverage because the alleged losses were caused “directly or indirectly” by a virus.

In an April 8 order, Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina explained that in its complaint, Coffey & McKenzie LLC alleges the COVID-19 virus caused the closure of courts and government agencies, leading to the firm’s business income loss.

“Accordingly, the basis of the law firm’s …