Bank Signs over Superstorm Sandy FEMA Checks Following Order from N.Y. Judge

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A major financial institution has signed over FEMA funds to a New York homeowner after a dispute arose over whether the bank was acting in bad faith for refusing to endorse the checks for flood-related damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.

Sources told HarrisMartin Publishing that JPMorgan Chase Bank released the funds following an order from Nassau County Supreme Court Justice F. Dana Winslow, who directed the bank to pay $3,200 in attorneys fees and face sanctions of $2,500 for each day the checks went unsigned following the order.

FEMA distributed a total of $15,000 in an amount …