| The Hartford Refuses To Pay Covid
Insurance Claim And SDNY Judge Concurs With
MDL To Come
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 14 – A nationwide
insurance company owned by The
Hartford refused to pay claims
based on damages from the
COVID-19 pandemic and got sued
by policyholder Social Life
Magazine.
On May 14
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Valerie E. Caproni held
a hearing on it, which Inner
City Press covered. More
on Patreon, here.
The
Hartford's Sentinel Insurance
Company argued that it's the
government closure orders that
are causing the harm, not any
virus in Social Life
Magazine's office in the
building at 315 West 39th
Street in Manhattan.
But the
plaintiff can't sue Governor
Andrew Cuomo, or Mayor Bill De
Blasio, for these losses.
Perhaps one day the Chinese
Communist Party - although
later on May 14 there was scheduled
a hearing in the interminable
lawsuit by 9/11 families
against Saudi Arabia.
Judge Caproni noted, Nothing
in the Governor's Order
prevents a small business
owner from going in to water
his or her plants and pick up
mail.
Social Life
Magazine's lawyer replied,
Here in my building I'm alone.
But there's no bosses here.
Lawyers are considered
essential, sole practitioners
particularly so. But other
business people, they were
barred from their
buildings.
The
Insurer's lawyer quoted from
an Empire State business
Q&A, that a single person
attending a non-essential
business is permitted as long
as not in contact with others.
Social Life Magazine's lawyer
Gabriel Fischbarg tried one
more time, saying, The
Executive Order supersedes
that. Judge
Caproni ruled: I feel bad for
your client, but... New York
law requires damage to the
property. You get a gold star
for effort, but your motion
for a preliminary injunction
is going to be denied.
Afterward there was discussion
of this case getting swept
into a multi district
litigation.
The Hartford's
lawyer from Steptoe &
Johnson said they would oppose
this, that states' laws are
simply too different. As one
Inner City Press reader noted,
DC's too - there, the industy
lobbied
against having to pay. We will
continue to follow this issue.
This case is
Social Life Magazine Inc. v.
Sentinel Insurance Company
Limited , 20-cv-3311
(Caproni).
***
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