LOS ANGELES - An insurance company has sued a star trial attorney in federal court over whether it is obligated to cover claimed losses of business income related to the global infectious outbreak caused by COVID-19.
Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America is seeking a declaratory judgment from the Central District of California that celebrity attorney Mark Geragos’s insurance policies don't cover the coronavirus, according to the complaint filed on April 20.
“The Policies require 'direct physical loss or damage' to property, and the presence or suspected presence of a virus does not constitute the requisite 'direct physical loss or damage,'" wrote Travelers’ attorney Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. “Moreover, the Policies have very specific exclusions stating that losses resulting from a virus or bacteria, including business income losses, are not covered.”
Travelers' lawsuit against Geragos comes on the heels of Geragos's complaint against Travelers and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti after access to his downtown Los Angeles office was greatly limited and he was forced to deal with a substantial loss in legal income, according to media reports.
Geragos’s lawsuit alleges that Mayor Garcetti’s orders are partly to blame for why his business and source of income has been interrupted.
“We can't comment on active litigation," said Harrison Wollman, Mayor Garcetti’s deputy press secretary.
Garcetti issued a safer-at-home order on March 19, according to the Department of Public Works website, requiring non-essential businesses to close.
“The Order by Garcetti, in his official capacity as Mayor of Los Angeles, constitutes a prohibition of access to Plaintiff’s Insured Premises; (2) the prohibition of access by the Order is specifically prohibited access as defined in the Policy; (3) the Order triggers coverage because the Policy does not include an exclusion for a viral pandemic and actually extends coverage for loss or damage due to physical loss and damage, including by virus,” Geragos' lawsuit states.
Geragos has represented celebrities Winona Ryder, Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Colin Kaepernick and the infamous Scott Peterson.