SDV Insights

Most franchise systems are facing severe financial impacts as a result of the continued spread of COVID-19 and the numerous government-mandated shutdowns that have been ordered by state and local officials in response. Even if your franchised operations are considered essential and able to remain open during the shut-down, franchisees may have exposures, in addition to a loss of revenue, which may further impact franchisors.

COVID-19 has impacted businesses large and small across the country. Some companies predict that their services or products will be in higher demand, and anticipate marked financial success in the coming months, while others brace for collapse. Either scenario creates a potential liability: the risk of misrepresentation or improper disclosure to investors about the company's outlook, financial health, capabilities, or any information that influences investor decisions.

On March 30, 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its opinion in the MDS, Inc. et al v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company case. While the case is favorable to policyholders with business interruption claims under "all risk" policies, attorneys representing policyholders are particularly excited as Justice Wilson's adoption of broad interpretation of "resulting physical damage" may be very useful in pursuing coverage for business interruption losses related to COVID-19 exposures.

Several businesses have commenced litigation in Florida against first-party commercial property insurers seeking coverage for business interruption losses resulting from state and local government orders enacted to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

If you are an attorney, insurance broker, or other professional representing developers and contractors, then your clients have likely reached out with concerns about losses related to COVID-19. One common question is whether there is potential coverage under builders risk insurance policies.

Louisiana, Pennsylvania and South Carolina are considering legislation that would mandate coverage under property policies for business interruption losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. These states join the growing group of states that are considering enacting such legislation, which now includes New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and New York.

When submitting an insurance claim for losses due to COVID-19, the policyholder's rightful expectation is that their insurer will handle their claim fairly and in good faith. However, a growing collection of lawsuits allege that certain insurers are not living up to this expectation and are denying coronavirus-related claims in bad faith.

The draft legislation, entitled the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020 ("PRIA"), would establish a Federal Pandemic Risk Reinsurance Fund and Program (the "Program"), that is intended to provide a system of shared public and private compensation for business interruption ("BI") losses resulting from a pandemic or outbreak of communicable disease.

In response to the large number of COVID-19-related losses that businesses are experiencing, insurers have begun issuing statements informing their insureds of whether their policies will respond to the losses, and if so, what coverage will be afforded. Insurers cannot take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to the COVID-19 losses because, besides factual differences, the losses are occurring within all fifty states which means 50 different state law interpretations will apply.

As the COVID-19 pandemic affects companies' economic performance, we anticipate an uptick in Directors & Officers (D&O) Liability claims. Attempts by companies to downplay the effects of supply-chain disruptions or overall performance due to shutdowns are potential minefields for D&O claims