Bachman's Inc. v. Florists' Mut. Ins. Co.

Bachman's Inc. v. Florists' Mut. Ins. Co.

Opinion

 [*985]  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Florists' Mutual Insurance Co.'s ("Florists") motion to dismiss. (Doc. No. 10)

I. Background

Plaintiff Bachman's, Inc. ("Bachman's") is a family-owned business that primarily sells perishable floral and garden products at retail stores throughout the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. (Comp. ¶ 1.) Florists is a specialty insurance company whose customers are professional horticulturalists. (Id. ¶ 13.)

Bachman's claims that to protect its business in case it had to suspend business operations outside its control, it bought an insurance policy from Florists. (Id. ¶ 4.) In the spring of 2020, when the growing season had begun, Bachman's suffered a business interruption loss during the global coronavirus pandemic and was forced to close its retail stores and limit its wholesale operations. (Id. ¶ 5.) Bachman's submitted a business interruption [**2]  claim to Florists on or about April 7, 2020. (Id. ¶ 20.) Florists denied the claim. (Id.)

Bachman's brought an action in Minnesota state court, seeking a declaration that Florists' denial of the claim was wrongful and a breach of its duties under the insurance policy. Florists removed the action to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction.

 [*986]  Florists has moved to dismiss Bachman's complaint because the insurance policy does not provide coverage for Bachman's claimed losses.

II. Standard for Motion to Dismiss

] Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may move the Court to dismiss a claim if, on the pleadings, a party has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. In reviewing a motion to dismiss, the Court takes all facts alleged in the complaint to be true. Zutz v. Nelson, 601 F.3d 842, 848 (8th Cir. 2010).

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. Thus, although a complaint need not include detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff's obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.

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