N.Y. Judge Awards Insurer Summary Judgment Based Upon SFIP’s Earth Movement Exclusion

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A New York federal judge has awarded an insurer summary judgment in a flood coverage case, ruling that the carrier was entitled to deny coverage to a policyholder for damage caused by earth movement because it is excluded under the policy.

In a Sept. 15 order, Senior Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York rejected the policyholder’s argument that the layer of sand beneath her home was part of the foundation and therefore the exclusion does not apply.

Marie Clifford’s home was damaged due to a flood …