COVID-19 Business Interruption Case Law: The Western District of Washington Denies Plaintiffs’ Motions to Certify Questions to the Washington State Supreme Court
In February of 2021, Plaintiffs in 10 consolidated cases before the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, including in Germack v. The Dentists Insurance Company, Cause No. 2:20-cv-00616, filed motions to certify questions to the Washington State Supreme Court regarding business interruption coverage for losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plaintiffs’ group specifically sought to certify the following questions:
- Does being physically deprived of the ability to use covered property directly as a result of the Governor’s shut-down orders constitute a “direct physical loss of” such property?
- Does Washington’s efficient proximate cause rule require a factual determination of the predominant cause of an individual business’s loss, before a virus (or other) exclusion may be applied to bar coverage?
On April 23, 2021, Plaintiffs’ motion was denied. The Court began by noting the Plaintiffs’ argument that “the Washington Supreme Court has not yet addressed the question of whether COVID-19 and its resulting business closures and limitations causes ‘direct physical loss’ to an insured property,” and that the Court should defer to the Supreme Court to determine the issue. The Court rejected Plaintiffs’ argument in whole, noting that at least five other federal courts addressing similar issues have considered certification to their respective state supreme courts and found certification to be unnecessary:
This Court has at its command all the tools necessary to reach its decision, including the extensive briefing provided by the numerous parties in the consolidated cases on both questions Plaintiffs seek to certify.
Additionally, the Court found “several other strong federal interests weigh against certification,” including the constitutional provisions for diversity for out-of-state parties, the number of putative class actions filed under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, and the unjustifiable delay and expense that would be incurred if certification was allowed. The Court ultimately denied Plaintiffs’ motion for certification, finding that Plaintiffs’ questions “do not present such unique and exceptional issues as to warrant certification.”
Lether Law Group represents The Dentists Insurance Company in the Germack matter, which is designated as a national class action for dentists impacted by COVID-19. TDIC’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the coverage issue is currently pending before the Court as is a Motion for Dismissal of the Class Allegations.
Lether Law Group is also currently representing several other insurers in COVID-19 business interruption litigation in state, federal, and tribal courts in Washington, Oregon, California, and Pennsylvania amongst others. If you would like to discuss or have any questions about COVID-19 business interruption claims and/or litigation, please feel free to contact our office.
The above article is an opinion based on various resources such as industry knowledge and is not to be construed as legal advice or to be used as such. If you require legal advice or would like to inquire further about the information contained in this article, please feel free to contact our office directly.
