Malnar's Tap & Restaurant Sues Insurance Company in Wisconsin

JOLIET, IL — The current owners of the Malnar's Tap neighborhood bar and restaurant on Joliet's west side have hired the law firm of Bretz, Flynn & Associates to sue a Wisconsin insurance company for refusing to pay for the devastating fire that caused several hundred thousand dollars in damage to the building on Feb. 1, 2020.

Malnar's has never reopened since the fire happened. In the months leading up to the blaze, William Stanford had purchased the property, and he renamed the place Stanford and Sons.

The new civil lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse accuses Society Insurance of breaching an insurance contract. The lawsuit defendant is based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

At the time of the blaze, Malnar's Tap, at 1123 Clement St., had an insurance policy with Society Insurance and "plaintiff met all the conditions and obligations imposed ... under said policy of insurance, including the timely payment of all premiums," argued Joseph Namikas, the lawyer for Malnar's Tap.

Malnar's Tap "submitted a claim to defendant for the value of the repairs and for loss of business income to remedy the damages caused (by) the fire," the lawsuit stated.

Loss of business income was covered within the insurance policy for Malnar's Tap, the plaintiff's lawyer argued.

The plaintiffs contend that Society Insurance initially made payments to Malnar's Tap under the terms of the insurance policy, but later "breached its insurance agreement with the plaintiff by making a unilateral decision to case, as of April 20, 2020, making any further payments for business income loss citing the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse," Namikas argued.

The Will County lawsuit asks a judge and jury to award monetary damages, as well as legal fees, to Malnar's Tap "due to the defendant's refusal to honor and pay the plaintiff's loss of business claim under the aforesaid policy of insurance."

In February 2020, Joliet's Fire Chief Greg Blaskey said the estimated damage from the Malnar's Tap fire was $300,000 to the building and another $150,000 in contents.