Travelers Prevails in Calif. Mexican Restaurant’s COVID-19 Coverage Action

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge has granted The Travelers Indemnity Co.’s motion to dismiss a Los Angeles Mexican restaurant’s COVID-19 business interruption coverage action, ruling that government orders forcing the eatery to temporarily close did not cause “direct physical loss of or damage to property.”

In a Jan. 20 order, Judge Dolly M. Gee alternatively ruled that the policy’s Virus Exclusion bars coverage because the government orders were issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pez Seafood DTLA Inc. d/b/a Pez Cantina contended that government “stay-at-home” orders issued in an attempt to curb the spread of the COVID-19 …