In a great illustration of Cheryl Harris’s seminal work on whiteness as property, we bring you (h/t Carol Chomsky) this story about a Florida couple that increased the appraised value of their home by 40% by removing from the interior of their home all evidence of the fact that Black people live there.
In COVID news, the National Law Review reports that Senior District Judge David Alan Ezra granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss in Diesel Barbershop v. State Farm Lloyds. The court found that the insurance policy at issue required a showing of physical property damage and that the virus had caused none. Even if it had, the policy had a virus exclusion that precluded any award in the case. Plaintiffs’ claim that their loss was due to closure orders issued by civil authorities was unavailing where they could show no direct physical loss.
The National Law Review provides helpful links to reports on similar cases, similarly decided in Florida, Michigan, and the District of Columbia.
