Regal Cinemas Sues Insurers for Not Covering Losses From Pandemic Closures

thewrap.com:

According to court documents obtained by TheWrap, Regal has filed a lawsuit at Los Angeles Superior Court against Allianz, Liberty Mutual, and Zurich American seeking unspecified damages and a court order requiring the companies to pay out the claims. “Regal has sustained hundreds of millions of dollars in financial losses since March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including lost ticket sales, concession sales and extra expenses,” the suit states. “Despite issuing broad, all-risk business interruption insurance policies, the insurers have refused to compensate Regal for a single dollar of its losses.”The suit claims that Regal purchased insurance for business interruption prior to the pandemic and made a policy claim in 2020 after the pandemic forced its 549 locations to close, including 80 in California.

But in October 2020, the insurers denied the claim, arguing that the company did not suffer any physical damage to its locations and that the pandemic fell under policy exclusions for “loss of market, loss of use or indirect or remote loss.”“The insurers’ refusal to cover Regal’s losses lacks any justifiable basis,” the suit states. “It contravenes the plain meaning of the policy and case law in California and across the country addressing similar issues under similar policy language.”While Regal’s movie theaters, along with those of other chains, reopened nationwide last spring, revenue for those theaters is still well below pre-pandemic levels.

Despite a recent boost from the record-breaking “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” domestic box office grosses since the start of 2021 stand at just $4.86 billion, less than half of the $11.3 billion grossed in 2019.