Minn. Federal Judge Refuses to Dismiss Barbershop Owner’s COVID-19 Coverage Action

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge has refused to dismiss a COVID-19 coverage action filed by the owner of a barbershop and a hair salon, ruling that executive orders forcing him to suspend operations constitutes “direct physical loss of” property, as required by the policy.

In a June 2 order, Chief Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota further ruled that the policy’s virus exclusion does not bar coverage because it does not apply because the plaintiff’s alleged losses were caused by executive orders, rather than contamination of his property by COVID-19.

Kenneth Seifert …