Shub Law Firm LLC secured a positive decision for insureds in Pennsylvania after an appeal was taken in the Superior Court. The case, Timothy Ungarean, DMD d/b/a Smile Savers Dentistry, PC v. CNA and Valley Forge Insurance Company, Case Nos. 490 WDA 2021 and 948 WDA 2021, concerned a dental practice whose business was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to state health protocols, health requirements made it so the dental practice had to decrease the number of people allowed in their buildings, require masking, and enhance cleaning protocols, all of which resulted in a disruption to the practice’s business. The business applied for insurance coverage based on the income loss due to the “physical loss of or damage to” the covered property. The insurer denied coverage, and this case was filed. The Superior Court affirmed a trial court filing that the coverage of “physical loss” is not limited to just damage, but deprivation of the use of one’s property – such as via COVID-19 restrictions. And further, this loss was not, in that reading of the policy, covered by any exclusion.
This is a big win for insureds who have had denied coverage following the shuttering of their businesses, and Shub Law Firm LLC is optimistic that other such cases will come down favorably for small business owners in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. At Shub Law Firm LLC, we have proven that Justice Takes Work – Results Take Grit.
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