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Dental practices’ COVID-related suit against Travelers dismissed

Posted On: May. 16, 2022 1:57 PM CST

dental

A federal appeals court on Friday affirmed dismissal of a COVID-19-related business interruption lawsuit filed by two dental practices against Travelers Cos. Inc. units in a brief ruling.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis affirmed a ruling by the U.S. District Court in St. Louis in litigation filed against Travelers Casualty Insurance and The Phoenix Insurance Co. by dental practices Glen T. Edwards Inc. in Kirkwood, Missouri, and David A. Narup DMD LLC in St. Louis, according to the decision in Glenn R. Edwards, Inc.; Daniel A. Narup DMD, LLC v. Travelers Casualty Insurance; The Phoenix Insurance Co.

A three-judge appeals court panel cited the 8th Circuit’s 2021 ruling in Oral Surgeons P.C. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., and said the lower court’s dismissal was proper “as the dental practices’ argument that the loss of use of their offices constituted ‘direct physical loss or damage to’ their property is foreclosed by our prior precedent.”

Attorneys in the case did not respond to requests for comment.

A federal appeals court last week affirmed dismissal of a COVID-19-related business interruption case filed by a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Italian restaurant against Chubb Ltd. and one of its units.