Franklin EWC, Inc. v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 FRANKLIN EWC, INC., et al., Case No. 20-cv-04434 JSC Plaintiffs, 8 v. ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO DISMISS 9 Re: Dkt. Nos. 10 & 11 THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC., et al., 11 Defendants. 12

COVID-19 has wreaked economic havoc on American small businesses. This insurance coverage dispute arises out of that havoc; in particular, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants must cover their economic losses suffered as a result of government business closure orders issued to stem the spread of the virus. Defendants move to dismiss on the grounds that Plaintiffs’ insurance policy provides no coverage for these economic losses as matter of law. (Dkt. Nos. 10, 11.)2 After considering the insurance policy’s language, the parties’ written submissions, and having had the benefit of oral argument on September 3, 2020, the Court concludes that, drawing all inferences from the complaint’s allegations in Plaintiffs’ favor, the policy’s virus exclusion bars coverage of Plaintiffs’ financial…