Liberty Mutual Skirts Most of Hotel Operator’s Covid Claims

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. dodged most of a hotel company’s allegations of improperly avoiding insurance payouts for pandemic-related business losses after a court found that the insurer’s affiliate actually controlled the policy.

Ascent Hospitality Management Co. LLC’s pleadings “unambiguously show” that Liberty is not a party to the insurance contract, Magistrate Judge Gray M. Borden of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled Tuesday.

Liberty Mutual Insurance and Employers Insurance Co. of Wausau, which actually issued the policy, are both subsidiaries of Liberty Mutual Group.

Borden dismissed nearly all legal claims brought by Ascent against Liberty,...