Valley Lodge Tavern restaurant’s turnover has plummeted due to Epidemic prevention measures. (Restaurant Facebook)
The New Guinea virus epidemic has had a huge impact on the restaurant industry, and restaurants in many states have failed to apply to their insurance companies for business interruption insurance coverage because the courts have been biased in favor of the insurance companies. However, Judge Edmond Chang denied a motion by Society Insurance to dismiss all restaurant lawsuits, which means that there is a new opportunity for restaurant owners to sue insurance companies for damages in cases where they were forced to close or lost revenue due to the epidemic.
According to Penn State Law School, more than 80 percent of claims against insurance companies for business interruption due to the epidemic have been denied.
In August of last year, all inter-district cases involving Social Security were consolidated before Judge Yimin Zhang, who chose three representative cases: Valley Lodge Tavern, Chicago’s Big Onion Tavern, and Rising Dough, WI, to represent the lawsuits. Social Security’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, a ruling that would have allowed all related lawsuits to proceed to court.
Social Security expressed its disappointment, stating, “This is a preliminary ruling and Social Security will vigorously defend its interests in the litigation.
The core issue in these lawsuits is whether the New Guinea virus, which led to the government’s forced closure of businesses, meets the criteria for a “business interruption” claim, which normally applies to property damage caused by fire or other natural disasters.
A reasonable jury would be able to decide whether the insurance company’s claims policy should cover direct losses caused by the restaurant’s maximum customer capacity and the business’s inability to fully utilize its property, according to Yimin Zhang in his ruling.
Including the famous Billy Goat Tavern, Purgle Pig, Lettuce Entertain You, and dozens of other restaurants that have filed claims against Social Security for business interruption during the epidemic period, the industry was once not optimistic about the lawsuit after seeing courts in other states rule on similar cases, mostly in favor of insurance companies, and with With the latest developments in Chicago, the industry has turned from worry to joy.
Bill Stavrou, owner of the Valley Lodge Tavern restaurant in Glenview and Wilmett, said, “We are very relieved that our lawsuit can move forward to court so that our voices can be heard and we can get a jury trial. “
Social Security is based in Wisconsin, and this offering of restaurant insurance is very popular with the Midwest restaurant industry, with dozens of restaurants currently filing claims against the insurer.
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