In early March 2020, as the novel coronavirus raged across the
country and civil authorities began forcing brick-and-mortar
businesses to shut down indefinitely, Ruberry, Stalmack &
Garvey, LLC sprang into action, forming its COVID-19 task
force. Staffed with the most experienced attorneys from our
firm's insurance, corporate and commercial litigation practice
groups, the task force worked around the clock to help clients
navigate the early days of the crisis. These clients vary in
size, location and business pursuits, ranging from small cafes to
large restaurant chains, sports teams to commercial real estate
ventures, industrial manufacturers to country clubs, dentists to
medical associations, and construction companies to flower
shops.
We've attacked the problem on many fronts by:
- Assisting small businesses in understanding and applying for
relief under the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection
Program.
- Assessing the viability of claims for COVID-19 losses under a
wide variety of insurance coverages, including:
Property insurance offering business
interruption (or "business income") and separate "civil authority"
coverage.
Restaurant recovery insurance
applying when restaurants, bars, pubs, country clubs, and other
purveyors of food and drink are forcibly closed due to a
contamination event or disease outbreak.
Event cancellation insurance
triggered by the cancellation or postponement of sports
competitions, concerts, trade shows, conventions, and other special
events.
Contingent business interruption
insurance covering losses resulting from the disruption of a
business' upstream supply chain or downstream customer base.
Product recall insurance covering
costs associated with the removal of products handled by one or
more persons infected with the novel coronavirus.
- Assisting clients in submitting business interruption or other
insurance claims arising out of the pandemic, calculating
recoverable losses, and responding to insurance adjuster
inquiries.
- Assessing and prosecuting claims against insurance brokers on
behalf of commercial clients with insufficient or no business
interruption coverage.
- Commencing and prosecuting breach of contract and declaratory
judgment actions aimed at securing insurance coverage for our
clients' coronavirus-related losses.
- Analyzing holistically our clients' existing insurance programs
to identify gaps and to recommend solutions.
As the pandemic subsides and the "new normal" approaches, our
work is far from done. We continue to submit claims and to
advocate and litigate energetically for our clients. We are
available 24/7 to field questions about legislative, judicial and
marketplace developments. We are here to help sculpt new and
more comprehensive insurance programs for our clients' future
protection. Our objective is straightforward and
constant: to maximize our clients' insurance and
non-insurance recoveries so as to soften the financial blow the
coronavirus and, more particularly, the resultant shut-down orders,
have caused so many.