AECOM Consulting Firm Loses 9th Cir. Appeal in COVID-19 Coverage Action

SAN FRANCISCO — A worldwide consulting firm cannot recoup COVID-19-related economic losses from Zurich American Insurance Co. because they fall within the policy’s Contamination exclusion, a 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel has affirmed.

In a Jan. 31 memorandum, the panel agreed with a lower court that the presence of a virus on a property constitutes “contamination” under the policy.

AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm, sought coverage from Zurich for losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zurich denied coverage, citing the policy’s Contamination exclusion, which bars coverage for damage caused by “the actual presence of any foreign substance, …