Ore. Medical System Loses Battle for COVID-19 Coverage in Federal Court

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge has dismissed an Oregon health system’s COVID-19 coverage action against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., ruling that neither the virus nor related government orders caused “direct physical loss or damage” to property.

In a Dec. 15 order, Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found the property was not lost or damaged by COVID-19 in a manner that required TOC to suspend operations to conduct repairs or replace any insured property.

Rather, TOC’s claimed losses are purely economic and not the result of any “direct physical loss …