New York’s Highest Court Weighs in on COVID-19-Related Commercial Property Insurance Claims

In an article for the New York Law Journal titled, “New York’s Highest Court Weighs in on COVID-19-Related Commercial Property Insurance Claims,” Schulte Roth & Zabel of counsel Howard B. Epstein, partner Theodore A. Keyes and associate Julia R. Cummings discuss commercial property insurance claims in the context of Consolidated Restaurant Operations v. Westport Insurance.

The COVID-19 pandemic upended the lives of people throughout the world and continues to have lasting impacts four years later. In addition to the significant and sometimes devastating health issues caused by COVID-19, pandemic-related shutdowns gave rise to considerable economic loss. According to Reuters, COVID-19 caused insured losses of $44 billion in the first two years of the pandemic alone, making it the third-largest event of loss ever—surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 attacks.