Superstorm Sandy Damage Falls Within Policies’ Water Exclusion, N.Y. Judge Rules

NEW YORK — Damage caused to a beachfront home by a concrete driveway and a boardwalk falls within the Water Exclusion Endorsement contained in two homeowners’ policies, a New York judge has ruled, explaining that the damage was clearly caused by a storm surge.

In an April 13 opinion, Judge Robert L. Nahman of the Queens County Supreme Court awarded the insurers summary judgment on the policyholder’s claims, holding that even if wind was a contributing cause, the exclusion still applies because the damage was “directly or indirectly” caused by an excluded cause of loss.

Jeffrey S. Gitter owned a …