Public Meeting Leads to Plan Speeding Hurricane Sandy Litigation, United States Courts Blog

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Nearly a year and a half after Super Storm Sandy, New Jersey is seeing another wave. This time, it’s a surge in federal cases involving flood insurance carriers.

‘These cases are hitting our docket very hard,’ said Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle, New Jersey District Court. ‘We have over 600 Hurricane Sandy cases now and we expect the final number could be as many as 2,000.’

With such a large and growing number of cases, Simandle took the lead. He called a public meeting to hear from homeowners, attorneys and other interested groups. On March 20th, the district’s Board of Judges adopted a plan for management of the Super Storm Sandy litigation, contained in a Standing Order and a 15-page Hurricane Sandy Case Management Order No. 1, which are available on the court’s website. . . .