San Francisco Café Loses Bid for COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge has dismissed a San Francisco café’s COVID-19 business interruption coverage action, ruling that government closure orders issued in response to the pandemic do not cause “direct physical losses” to insured property.

On Jan. 4, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California concluded that plaintiffs Steven Baker and Melania Kang d/b/a Chloe’s Café failed to allege “a loss of functionality resulting from infection.”

In mid-March, the café’ ceased in-person dining operations in compliance with government orders closing all non-essential businesses in an attempt to curb the …