Pizza Companies Ask Eleventh Circuit to Reverse Virus Coverage Decisions

Attorneys Tim Burns, Jeff Bowen, Jesse Bair, and Freya Bowen are representing Gio Pizzeria & Bar Hospitality LLC of Coral Springs and Gio Pizzeria Boca of Boca Raton. The pizza companies recently asked the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a string of lower court decisions denying them insurance coverage after pandemic-related shutdown orders forced them to close their business.

“We hope that the Eleventh Circuit does what few of the district courts have done in these cases — actually interpret the policy language like an ordinary person would,” Mr. Burns said. “An ordinary person would go to the dictionary and recognize that the presence of COVID-19 or closure orders based upon COVID-19 causes a direct physical loss of their property.”

Mr. Burns went on to say, “An ordinary person wouldn’t search the federal reporters for an unpublished decision involving road dust (Mama Jo’s) to understand what is meant by the term ‘direct physical loss’ or damage in the context of COVID-19.”