Rock Dental Arkansas PLLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Company, No. 21-2919 (8th Cir. 2022)
Annotate this Case
Rock Dental Arkansas PLLC and Rock Dental Missouri LLC (Rock Dental) operate dental clinics in Arkansas and Missouri. After Rock Dental’s insurer, Cincinnati Insurance Company (Cincinnati), denied coverage for Rock Dental’s claims for losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rock Dental sued for breach of contract. The district court granted Cincinnati’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that Rock Dental has failed to plausibly allege that COVID-19 physically damaged its properties or that removal of any virus from its properties was required. Further, Rock Dental has not shown that it is entitled to coverage under the Civil Authority Coverage. The court explained that coverage requires allegations of physical loss of or damage to properties other than Rock Dental’s clinics. Rock Dental’s complaint contains no such allegations.
Court Description: [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Chief Judge, and Benton and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Insurance. Plaintiffs' losses due to government-mandated COVID-19 closings were not covered losses under the policies' business income and civil authority provisions because plaintiffs did not suffer a physical loss or damage to property - see Oral Surgeons, P.C. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co, 2 F.4th 1141 (8th Cir. 2021).
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.