Michael Block, Attorney at Law v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

Background

The filing concerns a COVID-19 insurance-coverage dispute brought by Michael Block, Attorney at Law, P.C., doing business as the Law Office of Michael Block. The plaintiff alleges that its insurance contract with Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. provides coverage for income it lost when its operations were suspended beginning in March 2020.

On April 7, 2021, the court authorized Hartford to file a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The parties expected the motion to be fully briefed by approximately May 18, 2021.

Request

The parties jointly requested a stay of discovery until the court decided the motion to dismiss. They agreed that discovery would impose substantial expense before the court addressed whether the amended complaint stated a claim for relief. They also stated that the motion’s outcome would likely guide the scope of discovery if the motion were denied.

The filing described rulings from other courts involving similar insurance-policy language, including whether coverage for “direct physical loss” or “direct physical damage” applies to business losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties disagreed about the merits of the forthcoming motion but agreed that a discovery stay was appropriate.

Ruling

The court granted the application. The filing therefore records a stay of discovery pending Hartford’s motion to dismiss; it does not decide the merits of the insurance-coverage dispute or the motion to dismiss.