Homeowners Insurer Fails in Bid to Keep Superstorm Sandy Lawsuit in Federal Court

TRENTON, N.J. — A dispute over homeowners coverage for damage caused by Superstorm Sandy has been sent back to state court by a federal judge who ruled there was insufficient evidence to show that damages sought by the plaintiff would exceed the $75,000 jurisdictional threshold for keeping the case in federal court.

In an Aug. 28 order, Judge Michael A. Shipp of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey rejected the defendant insurer’s argument that in addition to the more than $44,000 in disputed coverage, the amount sought by plaintiffs would exceed the limit after addition of …