Conn. Judge ‘Un-tethers’ Flood Exclusion from Earth Movement Provision in Superstorm Sandy Claim

HARTFORD, Conn. — Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America has been awarded summary judgment in a Connecticut Superstorm Sandy case after a federal judge ruled that a marine cargo policy’s flood exclusion bars coverage for damage to a New Jersey warehouse that was inundated by water from a nearby river during the storm.

In a Nov. 26 decision, Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer ruled that the exclusion plainly applies to a flood without limitation, rejecting the insured’s argument that the placement of the exclusion within an endorsement containing provisions governing “earth movement sublimits and deductibles” rendered it applicable only to floods …