Peter J. Biging Addresses COVID-19 Business Interruption in the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal
In an article for the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Peter J. Biging, co-chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Management and Professional Liability practice, discusses significant business litigation cases decided from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020.
In the article, Peter and four other attorneys address the remedies and business income losses in the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of COVID-19 on securities litigation; negotiation class certification; and defenses to breach of contract claims arising out of COVID-19.
“The results of the cases decided in 2020 teach that pandemic insurance claims will likely fail if those claims depend on standard insurance policy provisions that require physical damage,” they write. “To find for plaintiffs on such claims, courts have required tangible, physical alteration to the property itself. Many insurance companies that employ edited versions of the standard forms in their own policies retain the requirement of direct physical loss, and the results are the same under those policies: COVID-19 coverage claims under policies with such a requirement are generally denied.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:
“Recent Developments in Business Litigation,” ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Vol. 56, Issue 2, Spring 2021 (subscription required)
MORE ABOUT GOLDBERG SEGALLA’S PETER J. BIGING:
Peter J. Biging is an accomplished trial and appellate attorney with more than 30 years of experience as a litigator in the state and federal courts of New York. He counsels and defends directors and officers against claims alleging fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duties, and a variety of professionals, including accountants, lawyers, and insurance agents and brokers, against claims based on alleged errors and omissions (E&O) in the performance of their professional services. He also regularly litigates labor and employment practices liability claims, commercial disputes, and municipal liability claims premised on alleged civil and constitutional violations.