Stefan Bessman, Magnus Stålmarker and Farzad Niroumand acted for the Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige Forsikring in an important Swedish court case regarding the right to insurance coverage of business interruption caused by Covid-19 related restrictions. The Stockholm District Court has today dismissed the action brought by the nightclub Sturecompagniet AB against Gjensidige Forsikring regarding a claim for compensation for business interruption loss allegedly caused by restrictions imposed by the Public Health Agency to limit the spread of Covid-19. Our client is pleased that its insurance terms have been scrutinized by the court, not least because from an insurance perspective the pandemic is a situation that has never arisen before. The ruling clarifies the scope of this insurance and that general restrictions imposed by laws and regulations do not trigger the insurance, unless a restricting decision aimed specifically at the insured's premises has been issued. The ruling provides guidance for other pending cases of a similar nature.
