Pa. Federal Judge Transfers Dispute Over Allegedly Defective Prefab Superstorm Sandy Homes to N.J.

SCRANTON, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge has transferred to New Jersey a contractual dispute involving allegedly defective prefabricated houses sold to families whose homes were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, ruling that the dispute has more ties to New Jersey than to Pennsylvania.

On July 13, Judge Matthew W. Brann of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania further held that the “first-filed” rule does not apply in this case because the defendant in the New Jersey action filed its suit in Pennsylvania in anticipation of litigation.

Following Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, laws were enacted …