Egg Works lawsuit says insurers not paying coronavirus claims

The owner of the popular valley breakfast and lunch spots Egg Works and Egg & I filed a federal class action lawsuit against his insurers, claiming his request for coronavirus-related business interruption payments were ignored.

Owner Brad Burdsall filed a complaint Friday through his company against U.S. Specialty Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Tokio Marine, for breach of contract and other claims.

Egg Works, which employs more than 400 people in Las Vegas and Henderson, stopped on-site dining after Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered a shutdown of nonessential businesses, including restaurants, according to the suit filed Friday.

The suit alleges that Burdsall notified the insurers of the company’s losses on Wednesday, and “to date, defendants refuse to or have failed to meaningfully respond to Egg Works’ request and refuse to pay Egg Works.”

The suit claims that Egg Works, which has seven restaurants in the valley, purchased a “Restaurant Recovery Insurance Policy” in September, which was supposed to be valid for a year.

That policy “protects against a loss of business income due to a suspension of each restaurants’ operations, identified in the policy and generally known as business interruption coverage,” according to the complaint.

While the policy specifically makes exceptions for bird flu viruses, “it is entirely silent as to losses relating to COVID-19,” the suit alleged.

The insurers could not be reached for comment Monday.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.