Clothing brand Oaklandish sues over COVID-19 insurance

San Jose Mercury News (CA)

Jul. 21--OAKLAND -- The popular clothing brand known for its Oakland pride apparel, Oaklandish, is suing its insurance provider for denying COVID-19 related coverage.

Oaklandish joins as one of the latest businesses to sue its insurance provider during the pandemic; Chez Paniesse of Berkeley similarly sued its provider this month. Oaklandish has at least two retail stores in the city itself, and the brand is sold throughout the Bay Area and online. Its most recognized icon is the city's official oak tree, depicting the tree's roots.

Like similar retailers throughout the state, Oaklandish was required to close up shop during the mandated stay-at-home order, which took effect in mid-March. According to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Oaklandish says that facing serious financial hardship, it filed a claim with insurer Sentinel Insurance Company for business interruption coverage. But the claim was promptly denied.

The lawsuit alleges the reasoning for the claim denial was "based on an unreasonable reading of its policy."

"That leaves Oaklandish in financial straits -- precisely the situation it sought to avoid when it obtained coverage for business interruptions," the lawsuit reads.

Amy Zeman, an attorney with the Gibbs Law Group, of Oakland, who represents Oaklandish, said the insurance company is doing "blanket denials," claiming that the coverage doesn't apply.

Oaklandish bought comprehensive coverage, believing that it would apply to business interruptions, particularly when it has done everything right to protect its business and the public, the lawsuit says. But instead, it's now facing "mounting costs" from Sentinel's apparent failure to cover losses arising from the pandemic, according to the lawsuit.

Angela Tsay, Oaklandish's CEO and creative director, said the company needs the insurance company to fulfill its commitment to Oaklandish so it can flourish.

"Oaklandish's deep-rooted love for Oakland is more than printing pride-evoking designs on products; it's also our commitments to creating quality jobs for locals, celebrating our city's rich diversity and giving back to the people and places that maintain our trailblazer spirit," Tsay said in a statement.

"Oaklandish means so much to so many in the Bay Area, and that's why it was devastating when we were denied our insurance claim without consideration."

Oaklandish filed the claim as part of a class-action lawsuit, which means more than 100 other businesses throughout the state could join in the lawsuit. Although the lawsuit does not ask for a specific amount in damages, damages are expected in a minimum of $5 million in the class-action.

Sentinel is an affiliate of The Hartford insurance. Matthew Sturdevant, a spokesman for The Hartford, said that viruses are outside the scope of coverage.

"Responding to customers' claims and doing it well is at the heart of who we are. We are in the business of paying claims. We pay often and a lot -- when there is a storm, fire or anything else that is covered by a customer's insurance policy," Sturdevant said in a statement to this newspaper. "Tragically, millions of businesses across the country have closed their doors because of government-ordered shutdowns. Unfortunately, viruses are generally outside the scope of business interruption coverage. These policies do not cover this exposure and, accordingly, premiums were never collected for it."

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