Will 1st Anniversary of COVID-19 Shutdowns Spur New Wave of COVID Lawsuits?
The upcoming anniversary of COVID-19 shutdown orders may reveal whether a significant number of policyholders have been waiting on the sidelines before suing their insurers for business-interruption losses.
Holding off on legal action may make sense, as insurers are winning four out of five initial trial court rulings. Insurers are likely to be more willing to negotiate if they start losing, the thinking goes.
On the other hand, attorneys have been advising policyholders to carefully read their commercial property policies and look for notice-of-loss and suit-limitation provisions.
The first statewide COVID-19 stay-at-home order was imposed on March 19 by California. State, county and city orders followed around the nation in the ensuing few weeks.