Tag: proclamation

Bourbon Pub Parade files class-action lawsuit after insurance company denies coronavirus-related claim

A Bourbon Street nightclub on Monday sued its insurance company for alleged breach of contract after a claim for damages caused by a forced shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic was denied.

Bourbon Pub Parade, located at 801 Bourbon St., sued Nautilus Insurance for breach of contract after the company denied to cover a claim for ongoing damages caused by a city order ceasing business operations to prevent coronavirus spread, according to a federal lawsuit filed on May 4.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a March 16 proclamation ordering certain businesses, including bars, to close as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes the vast majority of businesses in the French Quarter, which relies heavily on tourism income.

While the actual economic impact from the business closures has yet to be fully quantified, tourists in New Orleans spent $9.1 billion in 2018, with much of it driven by leisure- and work-related travel, according to the city’s Tourism Marketing Corporation.

French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Summerfest canceled due to COVID-19

“The damages [Bourbon Pub Parade] has sustained were not ’caused by or resulting from’ COVID-19,” the lawsuit states. “Rather, the proximate cause of…losses were the precautionary measures taken by the mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana governor to prevent spread of COVID-19 in the future.”

The insurance purchased by Bourbon Pub Parade included an “all-risk” policy that provided coverage for all risks, unless the risk was specifically excluded, according to the lawsuit, adding that the policy includes coverage for business interruption, extra expense, civil authority and extended business income.

While the policy doesn’t provide an exclusion for losses stemming from a pandemic, it does exclude losses “caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease,” according to the lawsuit.

Nautilus denied the insurance claim on two grounds: first, that the bar and surrounding property didn’t suffer any physical damage; and second, the policy’s virus and bacteria exclusion.

Bourbon Pub Parade, however, said Nautilus’ reasons are erroneous because of the impact coronavirus is having on physical spaces throughout the world.

Citing coronavirus studies, the bar said contaminated surfaces could serve as a potential source of transmission.

“Based on what is understood about the way COVID-19 is transmitted, it is clear that the insured premises and surrounding areas have sustained direct physical losses within the meaning of the policy,” said Bourbon Pub Parade.

Additionally, the bar said losses aren’t directly attributed to coronavirus, but Cantrell’s order forcing it to close.

In the lawsuit, Bourbon Pub Parade requests a jury trial and class-action certification, which could involve other plaintiffs that are denied similar claims.

Read the lawsuit below:

Bourbon-Pub-Parade

New Orleans discontinuing French Quarter daily evening solid waste collection May 1

Trash in the 500 block of Bourbon Street on the morning of March 8. Photo by Tony Webster | CC Flickr.

Daily evening solid waste collection services in the French Quarter will be discontinued on May 1, although morning trash and recycling collection will still continue at various locations serviced by the city.

Evening solid waste pickup in the French Quarter, which occurred between 4 and 6 p.m. each day, will cease on Friday at eligible locations in the French Quarter and Downtown Development District, according to New Orleans spokeswoman LaTonya Norton.

Morning solid waste collection, however, will still continue to run between 4 and 8 a.m. every day and recycling will continue at eligible locations between 4 and 8 a.m. on Tuesdays.

Metairie-based Empire Services provides trash collection services in the French Quarter and DDD, according to the New Orleans Department of Sanitation website.

The reduction in trash service comes as the vast majority of French Quarter businesses were forced to close after Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a proclamation on March 22 to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The business closures have led to a significant decrease in the vast amounts of trash that’s normally generated each night and a level of consistent cleanliness in the French Quarter that hasn’t been seen in years, or possibly ever.

With the existing trash services, however, the city reminded eligible French Quarter residents to place carts and black bags curbside for collection after 4 p.m. on the day before collection and before 4 a.m. on the collection day.

Carts should be removed from sidewalks and public rights of way by 9 a.m. on collection day, Norton said.

Additionally, French Quarter residents must follow the following code requirements:

  • Trash collected for bulky waste collection for eligible residential properties on Wednesday can include up to: six secured bags of green waste or up to six bundles of tree limbs cut in four-inch lengths; metal pieces weighing no more than 25 pounds and no bigger than four inches in length; furniture, mattresses; appliances with the compressors removed; carpet pieces less than four inches in length, rolled and tied; and up to four tires.
  • Residents can call 311 to schedule a bulky waste collection of up to 15 secured bags of green waste or up to 15 bundles of tree limbs cut into four-inch lengths and other similar items. Weight limit is 50 pounds.
  • Solid waste containers or bags must be placed in front of the property generating the waste and not block pedestrian or vehicular rights of way.
  • Property owners and tenants are responsible for removing solid waste on their premises, including the area extending one-and-a-half-feet from the curb into the street.
  • No one can sweep, blow or pour items into storm drains.
  • Permanent dumpsters must be screened from public view.
  • Signs cannot be placed on public rights of way, such as on neutral grounds, utility posts or between the sidewalk and the curb.

Call 311 to report any sanitation-related issues or visit nola.gov/sanitation for more information.