With the spread of COVID-19, most jurisdictions have declared a state of emergency and/or issued executive orders curtailing daily life. See, e.g., Cal. Exec. Order N-33-20 (Californians must “stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors”); D.C. Mayor’s Order 2020-054 (District…
INSURANCE | Business Interruption – COVID-19 Claims
During this pandemic, many business owners believed that valuable coverage they had purchased for the businesses would provide a source of some financial security. Prudent business entities purchased business interruption coverage to “indemnify the insured against losses arising from the inability to continue the normal operation and functions of the busines, industry, or other commercial…
Contract Excuses and the COVID-19 Pandemic
The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden and worldwide shuttering of large and small businesses may be felt for a long time. One of the resulting issues is the applicability of a force majeure clause, or common law impossibility, frustration of purpose or commercial impracticability excuses for contract performance and obligations. Force…
Release of Trustee from Liability for Retaining an Investment
Trusts It is not uncommon for trustees of trusts to encounter beneficiaries that pressure them into retaining a particular asset or investment even though the retention thereof might pose an unreasonable risk with respect to the performance of the overall portfolio and subject the trustee to potential liability to the beneficiaries for breach of the…
RECENT LEGISLATION PROVIDES CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FOR THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE
On March 18, 2020, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (Families First Act) [Pub. L. No. 116-127] was signed into law. The measure is the second in a series of recent legislative attempts to ameliorate the adverse health and economic effects of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in the United States. The Act…