Matthews & Associates 
Law Firm is teaming with several other highly experienced law firms pursuing claims against insurance companies for denying coverage for Covid-related losses.
All across the country, insurance companies are refusing to honor restaurants and other businesses’ claims related to the ongoing pandemic. Restaurants and other business are filing claims for business interruption losses, only to be told by their insurers that their claims will not be honored.
That doesn’t sit well with the President of the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, Al Flores.
“As the second largest employer in the country, our restaurant industry in particular has endured unsustainable losses,” said Mr. Flores, who also works as General Counsel for several Houston-area restaurants. “Like you, we paid thousands of dollars in premiums year after year to our insurance companies, expecting them to provide the coverages promised at every renewal. Now that we need them the most, their response for assistance under our business interruption coverage is a denial letter. This is simply unacceptable. On behalf of Gringos Tex Mex and Jimmy Changas, we intend to file suit immediately.”
Mr. Flores has worked as an attorney for nearly 30 years. He added: “This may be our most important legal challenge in our company’s history.”
15.1 Million Jobs Lost or Threatened
It is difficult to overestimate the restaurant industry’s importance to the nation. U.S. restaurants employ some 15.1 million people, while the industry contributes more than $1 trillion to the nation’s economy. Restaurants represent as much as 4% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
Attorney David Matthews
“We know these cases are going to be difficult,” said Houston attorney David Matthews. “The whole insurance industry is refusing to negotiate at all. They think they have no liability in the matter. They surreptitiously rewrote policies after the SARS scare in 2008, in an attempt to evade covering viral- and bacteria-related issues. But we’re not buying their denials. We are going to fight them for the restaurants, stores, hotels, other businesses that our communities and our country need to keep in business.”
Related: BusinessInsuranceLaw.com
Mr. Matthews has assembled a team of lawyers with more than 150 years of combined legal experience handling insurance claims and disputes.
The Covid business interruption group includes attorneys Rich Freese, Tim Goss, and Tamara Banno from Freese and Goss Law Firm of Dallas, Texas; Montgomery, Ala.; and Jackson, Miss. The team also includes Houston lawyer Riley Burnett, Jr.; Dallas lawyers Peter de la Cerda and Kevin Edwards; Houston attorneys Douglas Mena and Ryan Haun; and Wisconsin lawyer Julie Matthews.
“Most of our lawyers have handled cases in state and federal courts across the country,” said Mr. Matthews. “We are a seasoned group who have worked together in various litigations in different capacities for more than 25 years. We plan to bring everything we have learned over all those years to this difficult fight. We know it will be an uphill battle, and it’s concerning that the insurance industry across the board is refusing to negotiate at all. But somebody has to take on this fight. If not us, who? We all plan to storm that hill together.”
Related
- Business Interruption Claims Attorney – Houston
- BusinessInsuranceLaw.com
- States may shift Covid-19 Business Interruption Losses to Insurers
by Matthews & Associates
