Cases

Legal Sea Foods LLC v. Strathmore Insurance Co.

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss Legal Sea Food’s Second Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim. The Boston seafood staple sued Strathmore seeking coverage for COVID-19 related losses, pleading that the presence of the virus on the property and the government mandated restrictions constituted “direct physical loss” and therefore should be covered under their policy. Judge Groton penned the decision, siding with the insurer and finding that the phrase “direct physical loss” required a tangible, material loss to the property. Legal’s case therefore failed to survive the pleading stage despite the lack of a virus exclusion in the policy.