“It's not a game for us.
To win is to survive.
Laurent Sauvage, manager of six restaurants belonging to a large chain of pizzerias located in the north of Essonne, sees the future a little more serenely.
On February 17, the Evry commercial court ordered its insurer, Axa, to compensate it for its operating losses linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Out of the 820,000 euros of damage, an amount estimated over the sole period of the first confinement, the group must pay 475,500 euros in provisions pending an expertise that will refine the amounts.
A breath of fresh air for this professional who, within the framework of the loan guaranteed by the State (PGE), borrowed 1.8 million euros.
“Axa defends its profits, we protect our business.
It's not just my restaurants that could go bankrupt.
It is my personal property that is involved.
I could lose everything, ”says Laurent Sauvage.
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A week after the judgment, he receives us in one of his establishments.
In its imposing reception room, the chairs are placed on the tables.
No customer has been welcomed here since October 30, due to a health crisis.
A pandemic that no one had foreseen, but which was nevertheless part of a clause included in the “professional multi-risk insurance” contracts signed in January 2016 with the Axa group for five of the restaurants.
A clause on "contagious diseases"
The insurer thus specified that the establishment was covered in the event of a closure imposed by an administrative authority following a contagious disease, murder, suicide, epidemic or intoxication. .
In capital letters, however, it was stipulated that this guarantee did not apply if another establishment in the department closed for the same reasons.
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“For food poisoning, I can hear it.
But this goes against the very definition of what an epidemic is, the rapid spread of a disease, recalls Laurent Sauvage.
When I asked Axa about the steps to take to obtain compensation for my losses, I received no answer.
At that time, my concerns were elsewhere.
We had to see what we were going to do with our stock of merchandise, manage our staff.
It was when I started going in circles, for lack of activity, that I looked into the matter again.
I expected clear answers from my insurer, but I had very little interaction with him.
"
"You can say that I am a good customer"
Laurent Sauvage then contacted sixteen other restaurant colleagues from the same chain, also insured with Axa.
This is where he understands that he is ultimately not covered.
“We first had to digest the news,” he recalls.
In twenty-four years of activity, I have only declared six claims, three of which were for break-ins.
You could say that I am a good customer.
We pay an insurance company, so they can be with us in the event of a problem.
"
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“Axa's lawyer pointed out that we were not closed since take-out was authorized.
At the time, this only corresponded to 10% of our turnover, specifies the manager.
He doubled today, but that's not our job.
We want to welcome the client in the dining room.
"
In its judgment, the court considered that reducing this guarantee to a single establishment closed administratively due to an epidemic "is at odds with the reality of a phenomenon which, by definition, is spreading in a population which, not being confined in a single place, is likely to contaminate several ”.
And that the application of this clause amounted "to emptying the guarantee of most of its substance".
Other judgments expected in March
For its part, Axa France, which should appeal the judgment, deplores "that for strictly identical contracts, the various commercial courts of France render contradictory judgments concerning the clause which clearly excludes compensation for operating losses resulting from the Covid-19 epidemic ”.
One of the first restaurateurs who brought the case to court was indeed unsuccessful.
Before other professionals, based in Lille, Lyon or Marseille, win their case.
"These judgments lead to detrimental judicial confusion, and raise unfounded hope," says the group.
Axa France expresses the wish that the next decisions will bring more clarity and legal stability.
"
During the month of March, other similar cases, brought by restaurants located in Yvelines, Seine-et-Marne and Paris, must be examined by the courts.
