Judge Grants Briefing Stay Request from Flyers' Owner on Insurer’s Motion to Dismiss

U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle for Eastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia granted Comcast Spectacor’s unopposed Nov. 16 motion to stay briefing on defendant Factory Mutual’s motion to dismiss until the final resolution of two insurance cases in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and a third in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2311170002), said the judge’s signed order Monday (docket 2:23-cv-02476). Spectacor, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center, is suing Factory Mutual to recover losses it incurred when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation or curtailment of Flyers' games in 2020 and 2021 (see 2306290001). Spectacor alleges that Factory Mutual refuses to honor the terms of the property insurance policy the team bought to protect it against catastrophic losses. Spectacor sought the briefing stay because it believes many of the issues raised in Factory Mutual’s motion to dismiss “may be impacted” by the forthcoming decisions in the three appellate cases.