Federal court groups 35 small business lawsuits related to Covid-19 losses
The Western Washington federal court has related nearly three dozen lawsuits in which Seattle-area small businesses are suing their insurance companies for denying coverage of Covid-19-related losses.
The court is considering consolidating the lawsuits due to the number and similarity of the cases. Small businesses began filing lawsuits in state and federal courts in April. Judge Barbara Rothstein, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, will preside over the matter.
Among the businesses that filed suit are Seattle fitness studios, restaurant groups, multiple dentistry practices, and a hotel and motel group under “crippling” debt of at least $7 million by mid-April, according to court documents. More than 35 businesses are represented in the lawsuits, with some individual filings including more than one business as the plaintiff.
The lawsuits assert that Gov. Jay Inslee’s various proclamations — which, in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus, required most businesses to cease operations or caused dramatic interruption to business for many months — resulted in coverable losses from their all-risk insurance policies.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2020/10/22/court-groups-lawsuits-related-to-covid-losses.html
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