Superstorm Sandy Plaintiffs Can’t Pursue Deceptive Business Acts Claim Against Insurer, Judge Rules

MINEOLA, N.Y. — An unfair business practices claim brought against a homeowners’ insurer for its allegedly egregious handling of a request for coverage of Superstorm Sandy flood damage has been dismissed by a New York state judge.

Justice John M. Galasso ruled in a decision entered April 1 in Nassau County Supreme Court that the private cause of action based on General Business Law §349 cannot proceed because the insurer’s denial of the Sandy claim was “personal to the plaintiff” and did not have a broad impact on consumers at large.

The claim was among those included in a lawsuit …