Pa. Federal Judge Finds for Insurer in Real Estate Co.’s COVID-19 Coverage Action

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has awarded Zurich American Insurance Co. judgment on the pleadings in a real estate company’s COVID-19 coverage action, ruling that the alleged “physical infestation” of the virus in its properties did not cause “physical loss of or damage,” as required by the policy.

In a March 3 order, Chief Judge Juan R. Sanchez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania explained that Goodman Management LLC’s losses were not caused by “a distinct, demonstrable, and physical alteration of a structure.”

“First, these losses were entirely ‘untethered to the physical condition …