COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Litigation: A Five Month Update

Alabama's First Cases Remain Pending

We reported in April  that a Tuscaloosa shoe store and a Mountain Brook restaurant had filed the first Alabama business interruption cases. Five months later, we are still awaiting a definitive ruling in both.  

In Sharecropper LLC dba Ollie Irene v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, Inc., No. 01-CV-2020-901319 (Jefferson County Cir. Court April 7, 2020), the insurer did not remove to federal court. In July, the court granted a motion to expedite proceedings. The parties negotiated potential factual stipulations but were unable to come to an agreement. The last week of August, the insurer moved for the entry of a scheduling order allowing three months for fact discovery and setting a March 2021 deadline for dispositive motions. The court has not yet ruled on that motion.