Known Loss Doctrine, Expired Policy Sinks Superstorm Sandy Flood Insurance Lawsuit

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against The Standard Fire Insurance Co. for its refusal to pay a Superstorm Sandy flood claim, determining that the Known Loss Doctrine and a lapse in the plaintiff’s Standard Flood Insurance Policy bars coverage for the loss.

Judge Leonard D. Wexler of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York said in the April 7 order that terms of the federally funded policy, which expired two months before Superstorm Sandy, dictate dismissal of the suit even though the plaintiff argued that it didn’t receive a …