New York Judge Orders Consolidation, Joint Trial of Superstorm Sandy Class Actions

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A New York judge has agreed to consolidate three class action lawsuits accusing Long Island Power Authority and its management company of negligence in their handling of power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy.

Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Antonio I. Brandveen on April 2 ordered the cases consolidated for discovery and trial after plaintiffs said they revolve around common issues related to preparation for, and response to, Sandy, which left the majority of LIPA’s 1.1 million customers without power for months. The judge, however, ruled that it was premature to assign lead counsel for all plaintiffs in …