Developments in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Commerce Courts; Philadelphia Commerce Court Allows Covid-19 Business Interruption Coverage Claim to Proceed
Yesterday, November 3, 2020, Governor Wolf signed a bill into law permitting the Superior Court and Courts of Common Pleas to create specialized Commerce Court dockets within their jurisdictions. If the Superior Court creates a Commerce Court docket, it will be the first specialized appellate business court in the United States.
As many readers of this blog know, Philadelphia’s Commerce Court regularly hears commercial general liability coverage cases, including bad faith claims. Presumably, new Commerce Courts may include these types of disputes within their jurisdiction as well.
We also note that Philadelphia Commerce Court Supervising Judge Gary S. Glazer recently addressed preliminary objections seeking to dismiss a restaurant’s claim for breach of contract and bad faith against its insurer. The insured’s claims were based on the carrier’s denying business interruption losses resulting from Governor Wolf’s executive order closing non-essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Judge Glazer overruled the preliminary objections, and allowed the case to proceed. A summary of Taps & Bourbon on Terrace, LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London can be found on the Business Courts Blog, here.
