Alley 64 suing insurer for not covering COVID-19 related losses

ST. CHARLES – A St. Charles pub is suing its insurance company for not covering losses caused when the business was forced to shut down in mid-March as part of a state order put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Alley 64, located at 212 Main St. in downtown St. Charles on July 22 filed a class action lawsuit against Wisconsin-based Society Insurance. The suit seeks an amount not to exceed 60% of the amount that a judge or jury decides it is entitled to or $60,00.

It also seeks attorneys' fees and related costs as well as relief for other Society Insurance clients who have similar claims. A hearing on the case is set for Nov. 6.

Society Insurance officials declined to comment on the suit.

"Society does not comment on ongoing litigation," Society Insurance corporate marketing manager Rebecca Kollmann said in an email. "We look forward to a favorable resolution of this situation in the near future."

According to the lawsuit, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Alley 64 purchased a commercial insurance policy from Society Insurance designed to protect it from "losses sustained due to closures associated with public health risks."

"In breach of its insurance obligations that it voluntarily undertook in exchange for plaintiff's premium payments, Society, acting in bad faith, has arbitrarily and vexatiously refused to plaintiff's claim for losses arising from the pervasive contamination of the SARS-CoV-2 virus throughout Illinois, including on and about plaintiff's premises," the lawsuit states.

Bars and restaurants were allowed in reopen at the end of June with limited capacity as a result of the state moving into phase four of Gov. JB Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan.