Major League Baseball is suing insurance providers over billions of dollars of losses for the pandemic-stricken 2020 season, citing “all-risk” policy procedures, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.
The nitty-gritty of the legalese will be determined in California Superior Court, where all 30 MLB teams are suing providers AIG, Factory Mutual, and Interstate Fire & Casualty Company for refusing to pay claims.
“Due to COVID-19, the Major League Baseball entities, including those of the 30 major league clubs, have incurred significant financial losses as a result of our inability to play games, host fans and otherwise conduct normal business operations during much of the 2020 season,” MLB said in a statement to the AP. “We strongly believe these losses are covered in full by our insurance policies and are confident that the court and jury will agree.”
Playing MLB games almost entirely without fans this season costs the league billions of dollars on unsold tickets and hundreds of millions more on concessions, parking, suite and luxury seat licenses, merchandise sales and corporate sponsorships, the league claimed in its lawsuit. It also claimed that MLB Advanced Media suffered tens of millions in losses and that missed media opportunities were valued at more than a billion dollars.
Each team played 60 games, instead of 162, with no fans, before the postseason was played at limited-capacity neutral stadiums.
This ought to be interesting if MLB teams wind up having to open their financial books in the name of claiming billions. And if they win, will players receive full salaries? More importantly, will the stadium workers receive their missed pay?
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