Insurers Remove Michelin-Starred Restaurants’ COVID-19 Coverage Action to Federal Court

NAPA, Calif. — Hartford Fire Insurance Co. removed to federal court a COVID-19 coverage action filed by the owners of two Michelin-starred California restaurants, asserting that a local health officer was fraudulently joined as a defendant in order to defeat diversity.

In a July 8 notice filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Hartford and co-defendant Trumbull Insurance Co. assert that the citizenship of Napa County health officer Dr. Karen Relucio should be disregarded.

“Naming an official of a California county as a defendant does not defeat this Court’s jurisdiction over this action,” the insurers …