Despite being severely outnumbered in court rulings across the country, North Carolina bars and restaurants seeking coverage for lost business revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic found recent success at the state Supreme Court last week.

On Dec. 13, the North Carolina Supreme Court unanimously sided with a group of restaurants that were forced to close their doors in 2020 to minimize the spread of the virus. The restaurants sought coverage from Cincinnati Insurance Co., under policies that protected the building and personal property and income from "direct physical loss" due to government shutdown orders. The policies did not contain an exclusion for viruses, the opinion said.