The COVID-19 crisis may seem like a far memory, but pandemic-related plan dispute lives on. The Philadelphia Eagles ‘ request for a hearing in their case against Factory Mutual Insurance was denied by a judge on Friday.
Sportico detailed the complaint in 2022. The Eagles were forced to close or change operations in 2020 in response to the pandemic and state lockdown purchases. The Eagles ‘ insurance company Stock Mutual provided for Lincoln Financial Field, which has seating for about 67, 000 plus a standing area. Although the NFL managed to perform the 2020 regular time in spite of the pandemic, the Eagles immediately played games without enthusiasts, then could help 7, 500, only to see fans prohibited afterwards when COVID-19 rates surged in mid-November. The Eagles filed an insurance policy say for the pandemic-related economic losses, which Factory Mutual denied. The Eagles, in move, sued.

According to Factory Mutual, an available lost “must directly result from actual loss or damage.” Despite the fact that COVID-19 is a condition brought on by a disease that can be seen under a microscope, Factory Mutual argued that its appearance does not, in a scientific way, amount to physical loss or harm. The Eagles refuted this claim, claiming that viral particles that were “expelled from infected persons could have been present in the air” may have landed on and become attached to surfaces. Earlier this year, U. S. District Judge Michael Baylson granted Factory Mutual’s action to ignore.
The Eagles motioned Baylson to evaluate, but he denied the action in Friday’s purchase.
A “physical changes” to an insured house is a prerequisite for the plan to take effect, the judge emphasized. Baylson reasoned the Eagles “have not reasonably pled real removal, real deterioration, or absence of actual function of the covered properties”. The group has demonstrated that it has lost money by receiving money from tens of thousands of fans who had paid for driving, products, concessions, etc. during games. —but never in a way that adequately relates to insurance policy. In quoting an equivalent court decision, the judge claimed that the physical characteristics of Lincoln Financial Field had nothing to do with restricting or limiting presence at games and related authorities orders.
Baylson also refrained from arguing that the Eagles ‘ losses were related to the stadium’s physical condition. The Eagles insisted” the actual or threatened appearance of COVID-19 at its facility almost eliminated or destroyed the club’s key function”, but the judge reasoned that depiction doesn’t create a connection to the property’s physical attributes.

Baylson cited COVID-19 precedent from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit regarding physical damage. In 2023, the court found that “loss of use caused by government edict and untethered to the physical condition of the premises” doesn’t count as a “physical loss or damage to the properties”. Even when a property owner loses the ability to use property for its intended purpose, that doesn’t necessarily render the property “useless or inhabitable”, the Third Circuit stressed.
To that point, Baylson noted that Lincoln Financial Field reopened for the 2020 NFL season with limited attendance. The judge reasoned that development is consistent with the idea that government orders, rather than COVID-19 itself, “were the source seriously affecting the property’s functionality”. Along those lines, while COVID-19 might have been in the air or on surfaces, that didn’t make it so “physically dangerous” to be inside Lincoln Financial Field that the building became useless.
The Eagles can appeal Baylson’s order. In its lawsuit against Factory Mutual, the team has had more success on the ground since 2024. The 11-2 Eagles host the 10-game-winning Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, taking them first in the NFC East. At Lincoln Financial Field, a full house is anticipated.