Hand & Stone Franchise Owners Lose Bid for COVID-19 Coverage in N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge has dismissed a COVID-19 coverage action filed against West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. by a group of Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa franchises, finding the policy’s “communicable disease” coverage was not triggered by government closure orders.

In the April 13 order, Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina explained that plaintiffs failed to allege that their insured premises were contaminated by the virus.

Blue Coral LLC and its affiliates own and operate eight Hand and Stone franchises in North …