N.Y. Eatery Loses Battle for COVID-19 Coverage in Federal Court

NEW YORK — The owners of a New York restaurant cannot collect insurance proceeds from Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America for their COVID-19 economic losses because they did not sustain “direct physical loss of or damage to” property, a federal judge has ruled.

In a Sept. 13 order, Judge Kenneth M. Karas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that “loss of use” triggers coverage under commercial property coverage policies.

WM Bang LLC and Bang LLC own and operate “Bang,” a restaurant in a White Plains, N.Y., shopping mall. Beginning …