Kollross Secures Affirmance – Illinois Appellate Court Rejects COVID-19 BI Coverage Claim
Continuing the string of insurer victories in COVID-19 business interruption insurance coverage claims litigation, Clausen Miller Shareholder and Chair of the Appellate & Trial Monitoring Practice Group, Melinda S. Kollross, recently secured a unanimous affirmance of the trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of a claim for COVID-19 business interruption losses under a policy’s Tenants Prohibited Access (“TPA”) coverage provision. The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, held that landlord compliance with government shutdown orders is not a “physical” obstruction to access as required for TPA coverage to exist, and that the policy’s Contamination Exclusion bars coverage in any event. The Court further held that leave to amend was properly denied as the insured’s proposed amendments would not have cured its defective pleadings.
https://www.clausen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wolverine-opinion-1-23-0616_R23-005.pdf
Melinda S. Kollross