Wynn Resorts Still Pursuing COVID-19 Insurance Lawsuit

Wynn Resorts is still trying to receive compensation via an insurance filing involving COVID-19 and operation disruptions.
Wynn Resorts has been trying for some time to receive compensation for losses connected to operation restrictions when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The company filed claims with its insurance company, but the company has not paid up. The insurer is refusing to pay, so Wynn took them to court. A filing was made by the insurer to dismiss the case, but a judge refused. Factory Mutual Insurance Company still faces scrutiny from the lawsuit and Wynn is hoping they will eventually pay up.
Long-Running Lawsuit
Wynn Resorts operates the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore in Nevada and decided to file the lawsuit in June after Factory Mutual did not provide compensation for its claim. The company feels that compensation should be made but the insurance company does not. Factory Mutual asked the Nevada District Court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that the litigation involves excessive use of evidentiary footnotes.
The defendants’ attorneys say that the federal Rule 8 says that each allegation must be simple, concise, and direct. Judge Andrew Gordon disagreed and denied the dismissal of the case. He did not provide comment on the ruling.
Wynn Resorts says that COVID-19 is a virus that has a physical presence in its gambling venues. It led to the company suffering from $595 million in damages. In the filing, the company claims that it was subject to property and financial losses due to the virus which caused the properties to be unfit for use. The filing also notes the closures, capacity limits, and other restrictions to the facilities.
The company says that it purchased an All Risks commercial property insurance policy from Factory Mutual to insure against issues like pandemics. The operator says that such a policy should provide $2.25 billion in broad protection against all risks connected to a physical loss or damage.
A Common Fight Among Casino Companies
The filing by Wynn Resorts is not the only one connected to a COVID-19 claim by a casino operator. Others have tried to win compensation from insurers and failed. Both tribal and commercial operators have filed claims after they were not paid for insurance filings. Last year, Foxwoods received $2 million of a $1.6 billion insurance claim field with Factory Mutual.
Courts ruled in favor of Foxwoods, but the casino operator only received a small portion of the funds requested. Attorneys for Factory Mutual want to see a similar outcome in the Wynn case. The company says that Wynn Resorts is only entitled to coverage regarding on-site communicable disease. For the policy that Wynn Resorts holds, this is only around $1 million max compensation.
Wynn Resorts says that Factory Mutual has acted in bad faith by dodging its obligations by directing the casino operator to the communicable disease type coverage. The company claims the provider is misrepresenting the language of its policies and gone further by making false fact assertions regarding the claim by Wynn Resorts.
It will be interesting to see what happens in this case. When it comes to COVID-19, the virus has changed the way we do and see everything. From insurance claims to how we act in everyday life. There is so much confusion and misrepresentation involving the virus that no one really knows what to do or how to act.
We shall see in the coming weeks if Wynn Resorts will be able to win its claim or if the fight will drag on as Factory Mutual tries to avoid paying out for the compensation claim.