Dan and Mary Hountalas, the stewards for 47 years of San Francisco’s historic The Cliff House, filed suit today against Allianz and its affiliates after the insurers flatly denied covering the restaurant’s business interruption losses when it was forced to close its doors to comply with a series of orders issued by the City and County of San Francisco, and the State of California, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cliff House has been in operation since 1858, 162 years.
A disappointed Mary Hountalas stated,
“The pandemic hit us hard. We had to close our doors and let nearly all of our 185 employees go. The Cliff House has survived earthquakes, fires, and flooding and we will survive this as well. That is why we took out insurance for business interruptions and the insurance companies should honor their obligations under the policy.”
According to Brian Danitz, a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, one of the lawyers representing The Cliff House,
“As alleged in the Complaint, The Cliff House paid exorbitant premiums for decades to protect against a catastrophe like this pandemic. But when it came time to cover the losses, Allianz and its affiliates refused payment, raising a host of baseless excuses to deny the claims. Restaurants and other businesses suffering in this pandemic are fed up with being taken advantage of by insurance companies that charge exorbitant premiums and have no intention to cover claims. Our intention in filing this suit is to fight to end this dishonest and egregious practice and provide relief to businesses suffering in this pandemic.”
