Allison J. Becker, Managing Partner of the Raleigh office, and Kendra N. Stark, associate in the Raleigh office, recently secured summary judgment in favor of their client, a local insurance agency, in a lawsuit involving COVID-19 business interruption claims.
The Complaint was filed by a restaurant group who procured a commercial property insurance policy through the insurance agency. The restaurant group alleged that the insurance agency, through its agent, was negligent in failing to procure a policy that would have provided coverage for the business interruption claims it filed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related government-mandated shutdowns. Ms. Becker and Ms. Stark argued that the insurance agency owed no duty to procure any coverage that was not specifically requested by the plaintiffs, and that the plaintiffs never asked for pandemic related coverage. They argued that a broad request from the plaintiffs to be covered for “everything” was insufficient to trigger such a duty under North Carolina law. They also argued that there was no policy on the market that was more likely to provide coverage for the business interruption claims other than the policy that was actually procured by the agency. Ultimately, the court agreed with these arguments and granted summary judgment in favor of the insurance agency.
Ms. Becker is a partner in the firm’s Health Care, Professional Liability Defense, Construction, Appellate, and Product & General Liability Groups.
Ms. Stark is an associate in the firm’s Health Care, Professional Liability Defense, Commercial Litigation, and Product & General Liability Groups.