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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
The U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee dismissed a lawsuit brought by Agilitas USA against Hartford Fire Insurance Co. after Agilitas, doing business as Results Physiotherapy, had its business-interruption claim denied by Hartford.
The federal court said that the insurance policy contained a virus exclusion that enabled Hartford to refuse payment for any loss of income that Agilitas experienced after Governor Bill Lee shut down non-essential businesses last year.
In their lawsuit, Agilitas argued that it was not COVID-19 that led to the loss of revenue, but the governor’s executive order that shut down businesses, therefore the virus exclusion did not apply but U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger didn’t agree. The judge wrote in a November 2nd memorandum that the plaintiff’s loss was “caused directly or indirectly” by the coronavirus.
The Tennessee Labor Market Report from May 2020 announced, “The United States is now in another recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. A nationwide lockdown was put in place in an effort to help curb the pandemic from spreading. This has led to a plunge in consumer and business spending. The first quarter of 2020 saw a 5 percent drop in production, thus ending the longest economic expansion in American history. The weekly unemployment claims spiked in March of 2020 going as high as 6.6 million. The previous record of weekly claims was set in 1982 at only 695,000. The highest the weekly claims ever got during the Great Recession was 665,000 in March of 2009.”
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Many Tennesseans have decried Governor Lee’s many executive orders since the start of the pandemic, especially those that hurt Tennessee’s businesses and economy. The Tennessee General Assembly attempted to reign in the power of the office of governor during its last special session. HB 9075/SB 9012 decreases the time a state of emergency may continue under an executive order or proclamation issued by the governor from 60 days to 45 days.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and contributor to The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
