Common Flood Claims Not Enough to Group Superstorm Sandy Insurance Plaintiffs, N.Y. Judge Rules

NEW YORK — Another federal judge in New York has ruled that a Superstorm Sandy insurance coverage lawsuit cannot include the claims of multiple plaintiffs even where similar legal theories are asserted against common defendants.

In a sua sponte order issued Dec. 17, Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York severed a two-plaintiff action filed by homeowners whose Sandy-related claims were denied by their respective flood insurers. Judge Seybert’s order also dismissed claims asserted by the severed plaintiff with prejudice to re-file them in an individual action. Nearly a dozen other similar …