A massive COVID-related property insurance dispute that could impact thousands of restaurants and other businesses nationwide is set to go before the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, on Jan. 10.

The court will hear arguments in Consolidated Restaurant Operations v. Westport Insurance, answering on behalf of New York “whether the actual, suspected, or threatened presence of COVID-19″ in the plaintiff’s restaurants caused direct physical loss or damage to the properties within the meaning of an insurance policy issued to by the defendant.