Public Health Workers Testing for COVID-19 (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
In an aggregation of cases (but not certified as Multi-District Litigation) involving Cincinnati Insurance Company's coverages for alleged business interruption losses under its commercial property insurance policies, the same federal judge that decided the Erie MDL featured here on Monday, October 17, 2022, ruled the same way, dismissing the plaintiffs' claims for coverage.
The Court summed up the In re Cincinnati collection of cases this way:
Plaintiffs in this case consist of dental practices, restaurants, minor league baseball operations organizations, and a salon, all of whom bring claims against their commercial property insurance carrier—The Cincinnati Insurance Company (“Cincinnati”) —alleging that Cincinnati wrongfully denied them coverage for claims stemming from the global coronavirus pandemic (referred to herein as COVID-19). Pending before the Court is Cincinnati's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (ECF No. 95). As this Court explained in its Opinion granting the defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in In re: Erie COVID-19 Business Interruption Protection Insurance Litigation—a multidistrict litigation (MDL) consisting of over 30 cases brought by policyholders of Erie Insurance Group based on nearly identical claims as Plaintiffs’ claims here—the types of claims that Plaintiffs assert are far from unique, as they mirror those asserted by business owners in thousands of similar cases nationwide.
Hirschfield v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., Nos. 2:20-cv-00386, 2:20-cv-00604, 2:20-cv-00816 (Lead Case), 2:20-cv-01238, 2:20-cv-01245, 2:20-cv-01261, 2:20-cv-01266 & 2:20-cv-01727, 2022 WL 7932986, at *1 (W.D. Pa. Oct. 14, 2022).
As noted, the Court ruled in the Cincinnati group of cases the same as it ruled in the Erie MDL and dismissed all of the plaintiffs' coverage claims.
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