Paris (AFP)

The Commercial Court of Nanterre, seized in summary proceedings by five hotels, condemned the insurer Albingia to pay them 450,000 euros in provisions to cover two months of operating losses linked to the epidemic of Covid-19, pending detailed expertise, we learned on Sunday.

Five establishments of the Originals Hotels brand, managed by HHP Hotels in the Paris region, had summoned their insurer on summary proceedings on July 9, after having sent them a declaration of loss, following their closure on March 15.

According to the order made on Friday, of which AFP obtained a copy, the court considered that "operating losses suffered by hotel companies (were) covered by insurance policies taken out with Albingia".

"Whereas the total amount of these losses is still not quantified" and pending the report of a technical expert, appointed by the court, the company Albingia was therefore ordered to pay 450,000 euros in provisions to its customers.

The court order thus indicates that a guarantee clause entitled "temporary administrative closure", of the chapter "operating losses", stipulates that those "which are the direct consequence of the temporary closure of the insured establishment are covered. by municipal or prefectural authorities following only the following events: murder, suicide, contagious disease, epidemic, food poisoning or poisoning ".

This clause is written in "terms (which) are clear and are not subject to interpretation," said the court.

In his defense, the insurer argued that in this case, the hotels had not been forced to close completely and that the closings due to a ministerial decree had no value as municipal or prefectural administrative closings.

But, on this point, the court of Nanterre dismissed the insurer by considering that "the ministerial orders (...) being of national application", it was not necessary to invoke a prefectural or municipal decision. And that, moreover, the hotels, if they had remained partially open, had only been opened to accommodate the nursing staff mobilized to fight against the epidemic.

- "First round" -

For the deputy managing director of HHP Hotels Stéphane Flambert, this court decision constitutes "a first round", he said in a press release, inviting "insurers to take into consideration the daily difficulties encountered by cafetiers, hoteliers and restaurateurs for whom shops are often the working tool, the heritage and sometimes also the home. "

Contacted by AFP, the insurer Albingia was not reachable on Sunday morning.

At the end of June, the insurance group Axa announced that it had reached an agreement with several hundred restaurateurs to compensate "a substantial part" for their operating losses linked to the Covid-19 crisis.

This announcement came particularly after the highly publicized dispute between the insurer and the Parisian restaurateur Stéphane Manigold.

At the end of an emergency procedure in summary procedure at the end of May, the Paris Commercial Court had ruled in favor of the restaurant owner, who considered that Axa was avoiding its obligations concerning the four establishments which it manages in Paris.

The Crédit Mutuel group has also been sued via an interim procedure by a restaurant owner in Annecy. In this case, however, the court considered that it was unable to settle this dispute.

© 2020 AFP