Las Vegas, NV – April 27, 2020 – Recognized by the U.S. Small Business Association as one of the nation’s success stories, Egg Works has been forced to file a lawsuit against two insurance companies which refused to cover standard business interruption expenses – indeed refused to do anything to help despite being bound by the coverages they say they provide.
Various media outlets have covered this lawsuit, including:
- Las Vegas Review-Journal
- Eater Las Vegas
- FOX 5 San Diego
- NBC News Las Vegas
Brad Burdsall, owner of popular family-oriented nine restaurant chain, filed a business interruption class action lawsuit against US Specialty Insurance/Tokio Marine and ACUITY alleging the insurers unjustly denied its business interruption claims.
“I’ve built this restaurant chain from the ground up and invested my life’s blood into its success,” said Mr. Burdsall. “This insurance was supposed to be there as they promise in their policies when it was needed. This insurance was bought to best position the Egg Works to resume normal business operations as soon as possible. If I am forced to close up shop it impacts not just my customers but 100s of local jobs. It’s the same all through Nevada. Insurance companies are paid substantial premiums by their insurers to be there for businesses and save jobs of hardworking wonderful people. It’s offensive these insurance companies are not meeting their obligations.”
In September 2019, Mr. Burdsall wisely purchased what is known as Restaurant Recovery Insurance from U.S. Specialty and Tokio Marine which should have protected the restaurant chain against a loss of business income due to a suspension of each restaurant’s operations. After Governor Sisolak issued a Declaration of Emergency Directive (the Stay at Home Order), Egg Works, like all of Las Vegas, was forced to interrupt business as usual, itself left only with curbside and take out options neither of which are practicable to meet the high standards for food quality, service and dining experience for which all Egg Works locations have been so well known for years. This led to serious loss of business sales and unexpected expenses. However, in spite of clear policy language these insurance companies refused to pay any losses and expenses.
“It is important to remember that these restaurants employ hundreds of hard-working people throughout Las Vegas and Clark County and this policy was intended to be a lifeline for the owner and those jobs,” said attorney Mike Arias.
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“These insurance companies collected premiums from their customers for years, and now when these companies need them, U.S. Specialty and Tokio Marine have left Egg Works, its owner and its employees high and dry,” said attorney Gil Purcell. “Egg Works and many are denied the very benefits they specifically bought insurance to address.”
Established in 1998 with the original eatery named The Egg & I, Egg Works became a locally beloved brand as it grew to multiple Las Vegas locations. Founder Brad Burdsall, voted Nevada Small Businessman of the Year in 2016, expanded Egg Works year after year and was continuing to grow and expand his business up until the COVID-19 shut down. However, like many restaurants in Las Vegas, throughout Nevada and the nation, the government ordered shelter-in-place regulations have crippled its revenue.
“With the number of restaurants being abandoned by the insurance industry, which is actively trying to dissuade business owners from even making claims, we expect this to be the first of hundreds of lawsuits filed by restaurants throughout Nevada and elsewhere against their insurers for denied business interruption claims,” Mr. Arias added.
The cases are Egg and I, LLC et al. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company, Tokio Marine, United States District Court of Nevada, Case No. 2:20-cv-00747 and Egg Works Holding Company LLC v. ACUITY, United States District Court, District of Nevada, Case No. Case 2:20-cv-00748.
About Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team, LLP
With offices in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Las Vegas and Montreal, Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team represents clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts throughout the United States. The firm is currently pursuing business interruption claims on behalf of businesses all over the United States. Some of our practice areas include: Class Actions, Mass Torts, Major Personal Injury, Employment Law, and Intellectual Property Rights. To learn more about us, go to: https://aswtlawyers.com/.
