Virus Exclusion Applies to Clothing Store Chain’s COVID-19 Losses, N.C. Federal Judge Rules

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The owner of a clothing store chain is not entitled to COVID-19 business interruption coverage from The Hanover American Insurance Co. because the policy’s virus exclusion applies to the alleged losses, a North Carolina federal judge has ruled.

On Nov. 19, Senior Judge N. Carlton Tilley Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina adopted a magistrate judge’s finding that the policy language “is not susceptible to any reasonable interpretation other than that it excludes coverage for damages caused by a virus or bacteria.”

Julie’s Inc. owns 13 clothing stores in North …