Skillets, LLC v. Colony Insurance Company ( 2022 )

USCA4 Appeal: 21-1268 Doc: 36 Filed: 07/25/2022 Pg: 1 of 3
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 21-1268
SKILLETS, LLC, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, doing
business as Skillets Restaurant; GOOD BREAKFAST, LLC, d/b/a Skillets
Restaurant; SKILLETS HOLDINGS, LLC,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v.
COLONY INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant - Appellee.
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RESTAURANT LAW CENTER; VIRGINIA RESTAURANT, LODGING &
TRAVEL ASSOCIATION,
Amici Supporting Appellants,
AMERICAN PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION;
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES,
Amici Supporting Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Richmond. Henry E. Hudson, Senior District Judge. (3:20-cv-00678-HEH)
Submitted: July 21, 2022 Decided: July 25, 2022
Before MOTZ, HARRIS, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges.
USCA4 Appeal: 21-1268 Doc: 36 Filed: 07/25/2022 Pg: 2 of 3
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ON BRIEF: Lisa Sarah Brook, Edward Kyle McNew, MICHIEHAMLETT PLLC,
Charlottesville, Virginia; Adam J. Levitt, Kenneth Abbarno, DICELLO LEVITT
GUTZLER LLC, Chicago, Illinois; Timothy W. Burns, Brian P. Cawley, BURNS
BOWEN BAIR LLP, Madison, Wisconsin; W. Mark Lanier, THE LANIER LAW FIRM,
P.C., Houston, Texas, for Appellants. William F. Stewart, STEWART SMITH, West
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania; Gary W. Berdeen, STEWART SMITH, Midlothian,
Virginia, for Appellee Colony Insurance Company. Angelo I. Amador, RESTAURANT
LAW CENTER, Washington, D.C.; John H. Mathias Jr., David M. Kroeger, Gabriel K.
Gillett, Michael F. Linden, JENNER & BLOCK LLP, Chicago, Illinois, for Amici The
Restaurant Law Center and Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association. George
E. Reede, Jr., ZELLE LLP, Washington, D.C.; Wystan M. Ackerman, ROBINSON &
COLE LLP, Hartford, Connecticut; Laura A. Foggan, CROWELL & MORING LLP,
Washington, D.C., for Amici American Property Casualty Insurance Association and
National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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USCA4 Appeal: 21-1268 Doc: 36 Filed: 07/25/2022 Pg: 3 of 3
PER CURIAM:
Plaintiffs, Skillets, LLC, Good Breakfast, LLC, and Skillets Holdings, LLC, which
are corporate operators of several Florida restaurants, appeal the district court’s order
granting Colony Insurance Company’s (“Colony”) motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint
for declaratory judgment and breach of contract. Plaintiffs’ claims stemmed from Colony’s
denial of insurance benefits that Plaintiffs assert Colony owed them to cover business
losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have reviewed the record and find
no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order. See Skillets, LLC v.
Colony Ins. Co., No. 3:20-cv-00678-HEH (E.D. Va. Mar. 10, 2021); see also SA Palm
Beach, LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 32 F.4th 1347, 1359 (11th Cir.
2022) (agreeing that “the majority position [regarding physical alteration] is legally sound
under Florida law”). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would
not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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