Ohio Supreme and 8th Circuit Mull Whether COVID Can Cause Direct Physical Loss
Two appellate courts took steps this week toward answering a key question that may seal the fate of some 1,500 lawsuits seeking insurance coverage for COVID-19-related business-interruption losses: Does the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus or civil orders issued because of it constitute a direct physical loss under a commercial property insurance policy?
A panel of the federal 8th Circuit of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in an appeal filed by a dental surgery practice that challenges a decision by a U.S. District judge in Iowa to dismiss its coverage lawsuit against Cincinnati Insurance Co.
YOUNGSTOWN A man serving a life sentence for a 2009 double murder has filed a civil rights federal lawsuit in an attempt to get his freedom.
Lorenza Barnette, 39, who is incarcerated in the Marion Correctional Institution, has sued two Youngstown police officers who investigated the murder, the assistant prosecutor who tried the case and the Mahoning County judge who sentenced him, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Feb. 11 in the U.S. Court Northern District of Ohio.
Barnette was found guilty in 2011 of the murders of cousins Jaron Roland and Dary Woods, whose bodies were found in a burning car near the Mahoning River. Both men were bound with duct tape and had bags over their heads.
erunyan@tribtoday.com
YOUNGSTOWN Herb Washington, who has operated McDonald’s restaurants for 40 years in New York, Ohio and western Pennsylvania, on Tuesday sued McDonald’s USA, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation against him as a black franchisee.
The civil rights lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court and is assigned to Judge Benita Pearson.
The 50-page complaint details his long history with the company, purchase of restaurants in the Rochester, N.Y., Youngstown and Cleveland areas and decline from once owning 27 restaurants to now owning 14.
Washington, who lives in Mahoning County, sued McDonald’s, “the world’s largest franchisor” to “hold it accountable” for its actions toward black franchisees, the suit states.
Franchisee in Valley sues McDonald s USA over racial issues | News, Sports, Jobs vindy.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vindy.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Plaintiffs in Some States Defy Insurer Winning Streak in COVID Lawsuits
To anyone keeping score, it appears that insurers are crushing policyholders who sued for business income lost because of COVID-19 restrictions.
As of Tuesday, insurers had won 147 motions for dismal or summary judgment in state and federal courts, according to a litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School. Policyholders had won only 34 cases in early rounds less than one out of five.
But if you look closer, glaring outliers emerge.
In Ohio, insurers had won only two of 11 motions to dismiss or for summary judgment, as of Tuesday. In one case, Henderson Road Restaurant Systems et al v. Zurich American Insurance Co., a federal judge actually granted summary judgment in favor of the policyholder.