Judge Tosses $1.8B MSG Lawsuit

After requesting nearly $2 billion for COVID-19-related losses, a judge ruled that owners of Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and other related entities are limited to just $1 million in insurance coverage.

MSG and its companies sued four insurers in March, demanding access to $1.8 billion in coverage as part of their insurance policies.

In May, the insurers bid to drop the suit, stating that it was invalid since no “physical damage” was caused as part of the financial losses. MSG and the others persisted in their efforts anyway.

On Friday, the judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling in favor of the $1 million limit under a “communicable diseases” provision. The number is small compared to MSG’s first-quarter operating loss of $83.3 million.

COVID-19 Insurance Lawsuits

Madison Square Garden isn’t the only sports-related entity to sue regarding pandemic insurance.

• MLB and all its teams sued their insurers, with the league saying it purchased policies to cover more than $1.6 billion in losses for any one “occurrence.”
• The NHL and 20 of its teams sued five insurance companies in June 2021 for failing to reimburse more than $1 billion in losses.

News of the NHL’s lawsuit surfaced last week despite being filed in June 2021.