Homeowner Can’t Seek Appraisal to Resolve Dispute Over Hurricane Flood Damage, Court Rules

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has refused to allow an appraisal of hurricane-related flood damage to a Louisiana home after determining that the homeowner remains at odds with his insurer over whether there is coverage for a portion of the losses that occurred during the storm.

Judge Sarah S. Vance said in her June 3 decision that the appraisal clause of a Standard Flood Insurance Policy may not be invoked without an agreed-to scope of loss or as a means of settling a dispute only over the appraised value of covered items, while leaving other issues unresolved.

The decision …