SUPER STORM SANDY LITIGATION - ON NOVEMBER 20, 2014 THE NY COURTS INSIST ON FEMA AND INSURERS PROVIDE COPIES OF DRAFT REPORTS REGARDING THE ISSUE OF FRAUDULENT REPORT PREPARATION
Apparently, FEMA and the insurers have been refusing to comply with the November 4 Court Order to produce all the documents regarding the issue of manipulating the flood damage reports to show that there was little to now flood damage. The court has refused to do so and has just ordered them to comply with the discovery request. We are attaching the new court order #12.
A
related story was reported by METROPOLITAN CONSULTING & FORENSICS A MONTH
AGO. See here
https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanforensics/fraudulent-superstorm-sandy-flood-expert-reports
What
the insureds must realize is that they should hire their own experts.
They should never rely on the inspectors hired by the insurers. This is
how the "game is played."
https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanforensics/fraudulent-superstorm-sandy-flood-expert-reports
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
-------------------------------------------------------------X
ORDER
IN RE HURRICANE SANDY CASES
14 MC 41
-------------------------------------------------------------X
THIS DOCUMENT APPLIES TO:
ALL RELATED CASES
-------------------------------------------------------------X
CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO. 12
In accordance with the Case Management Plan, many of the Hurricane
Sandy cases have been proceeding to mediation.
In order to facilitate mediations in the Hurricane Sandy cases, the Court
held a training course for Hurricane Sandy mediators on May 22, 2014 and has made
a panel of 95 mediators available to the parties. It has come to the Court’s attention that the
parties are having difficulty locating available mediators and that they have selected
only a small number of the mediators from the panel of Hurricane Sandy mediators. As a result, the mediation process has been delayed. In order to remedy this problem, the Court hereby
ORDERS the parties to use the following procedure when selecting mediators:
The parties shall request
a mediator by sending an e-mail to NYED-SANDY- MED@nyed.uscourts.gov,
indicating the period of time in which they wish to schedule a mediation. These emails will be distributed to the
entire panel of mediators. Mediators who
are available during the requested time period will then respond directly to
the parties. The parties are expected to
select one of the available mediators and work with that mediator to schedule
the mediation at a date and time convenient to all. Failure to select a mediator will result in
one being selected by the Court.
It has further come to the attention of the Committee that certain
mediators have been having difficulty obtaining
payment for their services. Counsel is reminded that it is their obligation to
pay the mediators promptly.
Finally, pursuant to Judge Brown’s November 7 Order in Raimey v.
Wright National Flood Insurance Co., 14-CV-461 (JFB):
Within thirty days of
this Order, defendants in all Hurricane Sandy cases shall provide plaintiffs
with copies of all reports described in CMO 1 not previously produced - plus
any drafts, redlines, markups, reports, notes, measurements, photographs and
written communications related thereto - prepared, collected or taken by any engineer,
adjustor or other agent or contractor affiliated with any defendant, relating
to the properties and damage at issue in each and every case, whether such documents
are in the possession of defendant or any third party.
Order at 27.[1] The Committee has been advised that parties
have been cancelling previously-scheduled mediations in anticipation of the production
due by December 12. In light of all circumstances
here, such further delays are unwarranted and unnecessary. Because it takes
time to finalize resolutions reached at mediation (including, in many cases,
obtaining FEMA waivers), the parties are directed to proceed with any scheduled
mediations, aware that, should the production directed in Raimey affect the resolution
reached, the parties will be free to renegotiate the settlement or withdraw
prior finalization. Of course, nothing prevents
defendants from accelerating the production in those cases in which mediation
has been scheduled, thereby avoiding any further concerns.
The Clerk is directed to send copies of this Order the parties
either electronically through the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system or by
mail.
SO
ORDERED.
Dated:
Brooklyn, New York
November
20, 2014
/S/ CHERYL L. POLLAK
Cheryl L. Pollak United States
Magistrate Judge
/S/ GARY BROWN
Gary Brown United States
Magistrate Judge
/S/ RAMON E. REYES, JR.
Ramon E. Reyes, Jr.
United
States Magistrate Judge
[1]
Notably, the Raimey Order finds that these materials “clearly fall within the
ambit of CMO 1 and 3.” Order at 16. The Committee agrees with this construction
of its existing discovery Orders.
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