MLB and all 30 of its teams are "suing their insurance providers, citing billions of dollars in losses" during the '20 season played almost entirely without fans, according to Jake Seiner of the AP. The suit, filed in October in California Superior Court in Alameda County, said that providers AIG, Factory Mutual and Interstate Fire and Casualty Company have "refused to pay claims made by MLB despite the league’s 'all-risk' policy purchases." The league "claims to have lost billions of dollars on unsold tickets, hundreds of millions on concessions, tens of millions on parking and millions more on suites and luxury seat licenses, in-park merchandise sales and corporate sponsorships." It also "cites over a billion dollars in local and national media losses, plus tens of millions in missed income" for MLBAM. The league said that all of those losses "should be covered by their policies" (AP, 12/5). Tangent Capital Managing Partner Bob Rice said, “If these insurance companies lose this particular case, then 'watershed' would certainly be an appropriate word.” ABC’s Deirdre Bolton said if the insurers do lose, then the “same principle could potentially apply to all sorts of businesses, large or small, that have taken out what is called ‘all risk insurance.’" Getting paid on such claims "would be a relief for small business owners” (“World News Tonight,” ABC, 12/6).
WHAT'S ON TAP: In N.Y., Ken Davidoff reports MLB owners and players this week at the virtual winter meetings "intend to restart discussions concerning the makeup of next season, which stands in flux." While the two sides have held talks since the conclusion of the World Series, those were "relatively cursory," as the MLBPA "wanted to hold its annual executive board meeting and choose its new executive subcommittee members ... before diving too deep into the details." The development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines "provides hope that MLB will be able to hold a season considerably longer than last year's 60 games and allow some paying customers into their ballparks." Still, holding the standard 162-game schedule with full capacity next year "appears little more than a fantasy." Owners and players "must determine: Would it make sense to postpone the season’s start until a certain date (like Memorial Day), or report to spring training at the normal mid-February juncture with the knowledge that a pause might be necessary?" The challenge for both sides will be to "build off their impressive cooperation that actually executed a 2020 campaign amidst COVID and not recede into the ill will and poor communication which preceded the season" (N.Y. POST, 12/7).
