San Francisco Retailer Not Entitled to COVID-19 Coverage, Calif. Federal Judge Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A children’s clothing store is not entitled to coverage for COVID-19 business interruption losses from Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America because it did not allege “a direct physical loss of” property as required by the policy, a California federal judge has ruled.

In a Sept. 14 order, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California explained that plaintiff Mudpie Inc. did not allege that the presence of the virus in its store caused a physical loss. Rather, it argued that the government’s shelter-in-place orders issued in response to COVID-19 …