High Court orders FBD to cover pubs’ Covid closure losses

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The High Court ruled on 28 January 2022 that FBD must indemnify four pubs for specified Covid-related closure losses.

The judgment said “closure” includes part of insured premises, extending beyond a total shutdown when calculating losses under the public-house policy.

Three Dublin pubs qualified for indemnity linked to early-closing requirements and bar-counter closures, while Sean’s Bar was covered for specified closure periods. The court also made partial findings on staff wages and rejected FBD’s underinsurance argument.

The amount of compensation remained unresolved, with the case due back before the court the following month.