Phila. Law Firm Sues Insurer Over COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage
Sidkoff, Pincus & Green argued that it cannot conduct business or collect from clients because of a state-mandated office shutdown.
May 01, 2020 at 03:35 PM
4 minute read
A closed cocktail and lounge restaurant called Azucar Lounge on Folsom and 9th. (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM)
A small commercial law firm in Philadelphia is suing its insurance company, adding to a string of suits in Pennsylvania against insurers over business interruption claims related to the coronavirus.
Sidkoff, Pincus & Green filed the complaint Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Sentinel Insurance Co. Ltd.
The Philadelphia law firm has four members and three associates, according to its website, and handles business and employment litigation, contract negotiations and international law.
The firm said it closed its office March 16, in response to state and local orders calling for a closure of nonessential businesses, and continues to be shut down. As a result, the complaint said, the firm cannot meet with potential clients and get new business, nor can it file new lawsuits, prepare witnesses, take depositions or otherwise move litigation forward. The firm said it also cannot collect fees from clients because of the shutdown.
According to the complaint, the law firm entered its latest insurance contract with Sentinel in December. The policy included "additional coverages in the event of business interruption or closures by order of civil authority," and "does not specifically exclude virus coverage," the complaint said.
But Sentinel has disputed Sidkoff Pincus' argument that it cannot access its offices because of the state and local orders, denying that the insurance policy would cover losses the firm suffered because of its mandated closure.
Sidkoff Pincus is seeking a declaratory judgment that the orders do constitute a prohibition of access to the office, and that coverage has been triggered.
Other kinds of businesses in Pennsylvania have made similar arguments.
A Pittsburgh restaurant owner filed a petition in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday asking the justices to exercise their King's Bench powers in a dispute over business interruption coverage in the wake of COVID-19. Scott Cooper of Schmidt Kramer, one of the lawyers representing the restaurant, told Law.com that a decision from the state's high court would help prevent conflicting rulings out of the county courts and federal district courts that would create appellate headaches for both the shuttered businesses and their insurance companies.
These questions have come up in other jurisdictions as well. In California, Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America has asked a federal court to weigh in on a question of whether a law firm, Geragos & Geragos, should get coverage for business losses related to the pandemic.
Richard Golomb and Kenneth Grunfeld of Golomb & Honik in Philadelphia are representing Sidkoff Pincus, along with Arnold Levin, Frederick Longer and Daniel Levin of Levin Sedran & Berman, as well as Alabama lawyers W. Daniel Miles, Rachel N. Boyd and Paul W. Evans of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles.
Asked about the complaint, Golomb said in an emailed statement: "Sidkoff Pincus & Green, like many small business clients we represent, has been wrongfully denied a claim under their business interruption insurance coverage—premiums for which they have been paying for decades. We have filed a declaratory judgment action on their behalf to obtain an order as a matter of law that their carrier must provide coverage and honor their claim."
Media representatives for The Hartford, of which Sentinel is a subsidiary, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint.
Read More
Closed for COVID, Restaurant Asks Pa. Justices to Fast-Track Ruling on Insurance Coverage
Insurer Sues Geragos Law Firm Over COVID-19 Coverage Question
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