Palmdale Estates, Inc. v. Blackboard Insurance Company

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA San Francisco Division PALMDALE ESTATES, INC., Case No. 20-cv-06158-LB

Plaintiff,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO

v. DISMISS

BLACKBOARD INSURANCE Re: ECF No.

COMPANY,

15 Defendant. 16 INTRODUCTION Palmdale Estates has a venue in Sunol, California, where it hosts weddings and other events. After Alameda County — in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — prohibited large gatherings, Palmdale could no longer host events and lost money as a result. It then submitted a claim for its business losses to its insurer, Blackboard Insurance Company. Blackboard denied the claim on the grounds that (1) the policy covered only business losses resulting from “direct physical losses” causing “direct physical loss of or damage to” the insured property, and (2) coverage was barred too by the policy’s exclusion of losses caused by “any virus.” Palmdale then sued Blackboard for breach of contract…