The Federal Court has set out a timeline for preliminary actions related to the Insurance Council of Australia’s (ICA) second business interruption test case.

Justice James Allsop last week scheduled a case management hearing at a date to be decided after June 18 to determine the approach to non-agreed facts and whether there are matters in dispute that should be referred to the Full Court.

In the meantime, lawyers for the insureds are due to file concise statement responses by April 23 and provide documents by May 14 setting out more details on their businesses, actions taken due to the pandemic and the financial loss or damage claimed.

The initial hearing followed the filing of documents relating to nine disputed claim denials involving insurers Swiss Re, Guild Insurance, Allianz Australia, IAG and Chubb.

ICA is also awaiting the outcome of a High Court application to appeal a NSW court decision in a first test case that found exclusions citing the Quarantine Act and subsequent amendments are not valid in denying cover for COVID-19.

The nine cases to be heard in the Federal Court have been previously lodged with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which can consent to test cases where there are important issues of law to be decided.

“The second test case will provide guidance on so-called trigger clauses, including those that relate to the impact of government announcements on small business, closure and the proximity of an outbreak to a small business,” AFCA says.