Cohen Ziffer lawyers recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of Minor League Baseball teams across the country against various insurers seeking to recover financial losses resulting from the global pandemic. There has been extensive media coverage of the lawsuit. You can view some of the reports below:
“Two Legal Sluggers Go to Bat for Minor League Baseball in COVID Insurance Fight,” The American Lawyer Litigation Daily (06/23/2020)
- “The Minor League Baseball case shares many of the same questions—namely, has the virus caused the kind of direct physical loss or damage that’s covered by insurance policies?…Current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials…[I]t is statistically certain that the virus is present at the teams’ ballparks and nearby properties or that the threat of the virus’s presence at the ballparks is imminent,” they wrote. “Moreover, the ballparks are incapable of their intended function—serving as a venue for ball games attended by fans.”
“Minor League Baseball Teams Fight For COVID-19 Coverage,” Law360 (06/23/2020)
- “A slew of Minor League Baseball teams sued their insurance companies in Pennsylvania federal court Tuesday, saying the insurers have wrongfully refused to pay their claims for financial losses caused by the indefinite postponement of their season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“15 Minor League Clubs Sue Insurers Over Financial Losses Due to Pandemic,” Forbes (06/23/2020)
- “A lawsuit by more than a dozen minor league baseball clubs and business entities attached to them have filed a complaint against five insurance companies seeking to recover financial losses as part of the global pandemic.”
“Minor teams sue insurers over coronavirus claims,” ESPN.com (06/23/2020)
- “A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by 15 minor league baseball teams against five insurance companies alleges that “action and inaction by federal and state governments” contributed to “catastrophic financial losses” for ballclub.”
“MiLB Teams Sue Insurance Providers Over Denied Virus Claims,” Associated Press (06/23/2020)
- “Fifteen minor league baseball teams have filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract by insurance providers after being denied claims for business-interruption insurance due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
U.S. Minor League Baseball Teams Sue Insurers for Pandemic Business Losses,” Reuters (06/23/2020)
- “Fifteen U.S. minor league baseball teams on Tuesday sued several insurers for not paying out claims for business interruption losses after the cancellation of “much or all” of the league’s season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a lawsuit.”
“Minor League Baseball Teams Sue Insurers,” Business Insurance (06/23/2020)
- “More than 20 minor league baseball teams filed suit against their insurers in federal district court Tuesday for their failure to pay their COVID-19-related business interruption claims.”
“Minor League Baseball Teams Sue Insurers Over Virus Coverage,” Bloomberg Law (06/23/2020)
- “The Chattanooga Lookouts, Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Amarillo Sod Poodles, and more than 10 other minor league baseball teams are suing their insurance providers over denied claims for pandemic-related losses.”
“Minor League Baseball Teams Sue Insurers for Virus Damages,” Courthouse News Service (06/23/2020)
- “Fifteen minor league baseball teams filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against insurance companies they say won’t pay for coronavirus-related business interruption claims.”
“MiLB Teams: Denial of COVID-19 Losses Jeopardizes Future of America’s Pastime,” Mealey’s Litigation Reports (06/23/2020)
- “Minor league baseball teams on June 23 sued their insurers for breach of contract, anticipatory breach of contract and declaratory relief, seeking business interruption coverage for their “catastrophic financial losses” stemming from the “first-ever cessation of Minor League Baseball” due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and Major League Baseball’s decision that its teams will not satisfy their contractual duties to provide players under contract to their affiliated teams in the Minor League (Chattanooga Professional Baseball LLC, et al. v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., et al., No. 20-03032, E.D. Pa.).”
“Fifteen Baseball Teams Sue Their Carriers,” Insurance Business America (06/23/2020)
- “Fifteen minor league baseball teams have thrown their insurers quite the curve ball, by filing lawsuits against the companies that allege breach of contract for not covering business interruption claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“15 MiLB Teams File Lawsuit Against Insurance Companies over COVID-19 Claims,” Bleacher Report (06/23/2020)
- “A group of minor league baseball teams have filed lawsuits against insurance companies related to claims made about the coronavirus pandemic. Per ESPN’s William Weinbaum, 15 teams filed the lawsuit in a Pennsylvania United States District Court that alleges “action and inaction by federal and state governments” helped contribute to “catastrophic financial losses” for the minor league clubs: “In the first few months of 2020, the federal government failed to recognize the severity of the pandemic and did not contain the virus.” And it notes a “failure of the federal government to build an effective wall preventing the continued migration of the virus from states that were hit early to the rest of the country.”
“Lawsuit Details Minor League Teams’ Struggles Amidst Pandemic,” Baseball America (06/24/2020)
- “Fifteen minor league teams have filed a lawsuit against their insurance companies alleging breach of contract for denying their business-interruption insurance claims during the coronavirus pandemic.”
“MiLB Teams File Suit Against Insurers to Cover 2020 Losses,” Ballpark Digest (06/24/2020)
- “Fifteen Minor League Baseball teams across the country have filed suit against their insurers, seeking to recover the financial losses resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic. In a lawsuit filed by lawyers at Cohen Ziffer and the litigation team at Mitchell Sandler (Andy Sandler, the owner of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, is the named partner), the teams argue that insurers have denied business interruption insurance coverage, worsening the financial losses team owners and the local communities have already faced from the pandemic. In addition, MiLB team owners paid business interruption insurance policies year-after-year in order to remain protected from economic distress due to unforeseeable circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Minor League Baseball Teams Sue Insurers Over COVID-19 Denials,” InsuranceNewsNet (06/24/2020)
- “The Augusta GreenJackets is one of 15 Minor League Baseball teams that’s part of a federal lawsuit against insurance providers for breach-of-contract. The suit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, comes after the provider denied the clubs’ claims for business-interruption insurance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Minor League Baseball Sues Carriers Over Lack of COVID-19 Business Interruption Cover,” BestWeek (06/24/2020)
- “Fifteen Minor League Baseball teams sued their insurers — which include affiliates of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. — for denying coverage under all-risk policies, which they claim should pay . . .”
“Lawyer Representing 15 Minor League Clubs Suing Insurers Over Coronavirus Damages Maps Out Case,” amNew York METRO (06/25/2020)
- “Up to 15 minor-league baseball teams are suing five-different insurance companies to recover financial losses experienced during the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit, which will be held in the US District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is being led by Robin Cohen and Andy Sandler of Mitchell Sandler.”
“Minor League Teams Sue for Coverage of Canceled Season,” Law360 (07/02/2020)
- “Several Minor League Baseball teams are suing their insurers over coverage of the loss of income after their season was canceled, alleging they have been wrongfully denied coverage under their policies.”
“Yanks’ Farm Team Take Swing at Insurer for Virus Coverage,” Law360 (07/04/2020)
- “Three minor league baseball teams, including one attached to the New York Yankees, are taking Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. to Pennsylvania state court, alleging the company has wrongly denied them coverage for the losses they stand to suffer because of the season’s cancellation.”