Two appellate court panels reject business coverage for COVID-19

Insurance Matters

By Don R. Sampen

Don R. Sampen is a member of the appellate practice group of Clausen, Miller P.C., where he focuses on appellate, commercial and insurance-related litigation. He also teaches insurance law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. His column appears twice monthly.

Posted April 5, 2022 12:08 PM

Two Illinois Appellate Court decisions recently rejected insured restaurants’ claims for business interruption coverage based on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders suspending on-premises consumption of food or beverages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The cases are Lee v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 2022 IL App (1st) 210105 (1st Dist. March 21), and Sweet Berry Café, Inc. v. Society Insurance, Inc., 2022 IL App (2d) 210088 (2d Dist. March 15). In Lee, the insureds, Hyun Lee and Jaewook Lee, owners of the Evanston …

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