Insurance carriers have filed over 100 motions to dismiss in the more than 1,000 business interruption (BI) cases already filed that seek coverage for losses from COVID-19. All of these motions to dismiss allege that the insureds have not, under the standards of Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009), and Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007), alleged enough facts to prove damage or structural alteration to their property, which the insurers claim is required under the policies at issue as a prerequisite for BI coverage.
The motions filed by the insurers include several in cases where the insured plainly alleged that COVID-19 caused damage or loss to its property but where the insurer nonetheless insisted that the allegations needed to be more detailed. See, e.g., Actors Playhouse Prods., Inc., v. SCOR SE & General Sec. Indem. Co. of Ariz., Case No. 1:20-cv-22981-MGC (S.D. Fla. Sept. 3, 2020).
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