Ore. Hotel Owners Lose Bid for COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge has dismissed a COVID-19 coverage action filed against Hartford Fire Insurance Co. by the owners of two Oregon hotels, ruling that government closure orders did not cause them to sustain “direct physical loss or damage” as required by the insurance policy.

In an Oct. 16 order, Judge Michael W. Mosman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found RV Agate Beach LLC and Riverhouse Property LLC only pled economic damages, not physical harms.

The judge referred to five other decisions in which the District Court found no coverage for COVID-19 business …