Plaintiff Not Entitled to Trial in GEICO COVID-19 Auto Premium Case, Calif. Judge Says

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge has ruled that a plaintiff who accuses GEICO Casualty Co. of violating the state’s Unfair Competition Law by charging inflated auto insurance premiums during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic has no right to a jury trial.

In a Feb. 27 order, Judge Beth L. Freeman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that the UCL claim “does not parallel a common law cause of action for unfair methods of competition” and seeks a remedy that is equitable in nature.

Plaintiff Jessica Day alleges the reduction in …