A lawsuit filed by the University of Arkansas board of trustees seeking payment by insurance giant Travelers over losses related to the pandemic will be allowed to go on after a judge denied a motion to have the case dismissed.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Davis Fox denied the motion Wednesday.
The university's lawsuit claims that the Travelers "all-risk" commercial property insurance should cover losses associated with an inability to use facilities because of the pandemic.
Court documents in the lawsuit, filed Aug. 31, refer to how state recommendations and mandates related to the pandemic affected elective surgical procedures at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and events at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Travelers denied insurance claims made by the university, according to court documents.
More than 1,500 similar cases have been filed since mid-March against insurance groups, according to a tally kept by Tom Baker, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and published at cclt.law.upenn.edu.
Representing the UA trustees in the case are attorneys with the Jackson Walker L.L.P. law firm. The University of Arkansas board of trustees has a contingency fee agreement with the law firm, meaning that any payment to the attorneys is to come solely from any case winnings or causes of action against the insurance company.