Mo. Retailer’s COVID-19 Coverage Action Survives Insurer’s Dismissal Motion

KANSAS CITY — A Missouri federal judge has refused to dismiss a retailer’s COVID-19 coverage action, ruling that it has adequately alleged that the potential presence of COVID-19 in its store caused “direct physical loss of and damage to” its insured property, as required by the policy.

In a Feb. 16 order, Judge Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri found the plaintiff has adequately alleged a causal connection between the presence of the virus and its alleged losses.

In March 2020, NECO Inc. d/b/a Play It Again Sports, which operates a …