Mr Justice Butcher held substantially in favour of Stonegate, Greggs and Various Eateries in three complex judgments, Stonegate Pub & Ors v Amlin Corporate, Liberty Mutual & Ors [2022] EWHC 2549 (Comm).
Stonegate, which owns 760 pubs and eateries, argued it was entitled to an indemnity in respect of three perils (disease, enforced closure, and prevention of access), that it suffered business interruption losses attributable to multiple triggers and that there was a £15m limit for each single business interruption loss (SBIL).
The insurers accepted they had liability for business interruption loss but had contended it was all attributable to ‘a single occurrence’, was to be aggregated as an SBIL subject to a £2.5m limit, and that this sum had already been paid out to Stonegate in 2020.
Similarly, insurers Zurich contended there was only one ‘single occurrence’ under Greggs’ policy, limiting the bakery to a £2.5m pay-out only.
Greggs successfully argued the £2.5m limit applied each time the Westminster and devolved governments adopted a major COVID restriction measure. Butcher J held there was a single occurrence at the outset of lockdown in March 2020 followed by separate occurrences in each jurisdiction and on each adjustment.
Butcher J also held that regulations which merely continued existing restrictions or made trivial changes did not trigger an extra £2.5m limit.
Manoj Vaghela, partner at Charles Russell Speechlys, which acted for Greggs, said: ‘This outcome vindicates Greggs commencing proceedings and has wider implications for all businesses that purchased the Resilience Insurance policies.
‘Insurers’ argument that there was only one limit available for Covid business interruption losses has been firmly rejected.’
The case now proceeds to phase 2, where the value of recoverable loss is calculated.
