Fla. Pub Loses Battle for Coverage of COVID-19 Losses

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida pub is not covered for losses it sustained when it was forced to suspend in-person dining during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic because it did not incur “direct physical loss of or damage” to its covered property, a federal judge has ruled.

In a July 26 order, Judge Sheri Polster Chappell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida agreed with most judges that “airborne particles and the mere presence of a virus in the community do not constitute direct physical loss to the property.”

Ice House Pub Inc. …