Lawsuit Says Sewer Overflow, Not Surface Flood from Superstorm Sandy Damaged N.Y. Office

NEW YORK — Two New York podiatrists whose offices were damaged by sewage backup caused by Superstorm Sandy have sued Harleysville Worcester Insurance Co. for its refusal to pay the doctors’ $40,000 insurance claim.

In a lawsuit filed April 10 in Kings County Supreme Court, Ira Tartack and Adam Chalnick seek an additional $100,000 in punitive damages from Harleysville for denying coverage of their loss in bad faith. The plaintiffs contend that Harleysville has unjustifiably taken the position that the damage to their office, which was closed for five months after Sandy, fell outside the covered losses described in a …