U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb granted Harleysville Insurance Co.'s motion to dismiss the gym's claims that it is entitled to coverage after lockdown requirements kept it from opening, finding that the language of the virus exclusion in Body Physics' policy "is clear and unambiguous."
"The Virus Exclusion clearly and explicitly excludes from coverage any loss or damage caused by or resulting from a virus: 'We will not pay for loss or damage caused by or resulting from any virus ... that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease,'" Judge Bumb said, citing the policy's language.
The judge agreed with Harleysville Insurance that it was entitled to deny Body Physics' claim, according to the order, rejecting the gym's argument that the exclusion is ambiguous and that discovery is needed to decipher its meaning. The judge said Body Physics didn't point to any specific ambiguities in the language of the exclusion.
"The Virus Exclusion is unambiguous and it excludes [Body Physics'] alleged losses, which were unfortunately caused by COVID-19, a virus that has affected too many businesses and individuals," Judge Bumb said.
The judge granted Harleysville Insurance's motion and dismissed the gym's suit.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Judges around the country for the most part have tossed coronavirus-related insurance coverage cases, with some cases reaching the appellate realm.
On Wednesday, a Kentucky outdoor sports gear store lost its bid for coverage after a federal judge said the policy's virus exclusion clearly states the insurer won't pay for any losses or damages caused by a virus.
In February, a Florida federal judge tossed a Miami restaurant's suit, saying the "weight of federal court rulings is against" the restaurant's argument that its inability to operate because of the effects of the coronavirus and government responses constitute physical losses under its insurance policy.
A New York state judge ruled that a Great American Insurance unit doesn't have to cover a movie theater's losses, finding that the direct physical loss or damage language at issue in the policy requires a tangible physical alteration to the policyholder's property, which did not occur.
A Pennsylvania federal judge tossed a shuttered South Carolina restaurant's suit against Pennsylvania National Mutual Insurance Co. for similar reasons.
Then, a California federal judge freed a Chubb insurance unit from covering a San Francisco concert operating company's losses, while a Nevada federal judge tossed a suit brought by a Las Vegas breakfast chain, and an Ohio federal judge threw out a suit brought by a real estate management company.
But two Philadelphia federal judges issued differing opinions on a pair of coverage lawsuits, with one judge ruling that a policy's "virus exclusion" bars coverage and the other deferring the issue to state courts.
Last month, Los Angeles restaurant Plan Check asked the Ninth Circuit to reverse a district court's decision to toss its proposed class action seeking coverage from AmGuard Insurance Co. for losses stemming from COVID-19 shutdown orders.
And a group of minor league baseball teams sought to revive their suit against their three Nationwide insurers, after an Arizona federal judge granted a bid by National Casualty Co., Scottsdale Indemnity Co. and Scottsdale Insurance Co. to dismiss the case.
Body Physics is represented by Lewis G. Adler.
Harleysville Insurance is represented by Mark C. Errico of Squire Patton Boggs LLP.
The case is Body Physics v. Nationwide Insurance et al., case number 1:20-cv-09231, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
--Additional reporting by Daphne Zhang, Jeff Sistrunk, Matthew Santoni and Mike Curley. Editing by Gemma Horowitz.
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