Court opinion finds COVID-19 qualifies as a natural disaster

The court found that the Pennsylvania Governor has “broad emergency management powers” and may, therefore, declare a state of emergency for proclamation or executive order. (Photo: Nejron/Shutterstock)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued an opinion that provides helpful language that policyholders and their counsel will likely cite in support of arguments for insurance covering business interruption losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Friends of DeVito, et al. v. Tom Wolf, Governor, et al., Pennsylvania business owners brought an emergency petition for relief against the governor’s executive order closing nonessential businesses to slow the spread of COVID-19. The petitioners generally argued the governor exceeded his statutory authority in issuing the executive order.