Hey FEMA: Show Howard Beach the money.
With the Sept. 15 deadline looming, two attorneys last Thursday implored a rapt audience at a Forum-organized Town Hall to re-file with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and have their Superstorm Sandy flood-insurance claims reviewed.
Because you will get more money the second time around.
They GUARANTEE it.
“I’ve represented over a thousand homeowners who were told they were entitled to no more flood insurance money,” said Bill Kelly, a Rockaway native and partner at McCarthy & Kelly LLP. “We have recovered more than $55 million for Sandy victims. A hundred percent of the people I have represented have been paid.”
Kelly and Brian Haughtaling, partner at New Orleans-based Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams who fought FEMA after Hurricane Katrina and won , have estimated that people who have Sandy flood insurance claims have each been underpaid by the insurance companies by $100,000 to $110,000.
Kelly and Haughtaling said their clients who have re-filed have received an average of $107,000.
At the eye of the storm is a “60 Minutes” segment detailing how private engineering companies purposefully altered engineering reports so as to not fully reflect the true impact and damage caused by Sandy to New Yorkers’ homes, which led to the unjust denial or underpayment of flood insurance claims.
“Engineers just said they couldn’t stand by and watch this anymore,” Haughtaling said.
“I’ve been suing insurance companies for 24 years,” Kelly added. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Hundreds of flood-damage reports were allegedly falsified, and both engineering firms and insurance companies are under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for possible criminal conduct.
As a result, federal officials announced in March that FEMA has agreed to reopen and review every flood insurance claim—approximately 144,000—filed by Sandy victims, and not limit corrective action to just the 2,200 that were in litigation at the time.
“It is atrocious to even think people who lost everything in Sandy have been shortchanged or taken advantage of,” state Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said in March. “First, FEMA asked for reimbursements for overpayments they mistakenly gave, and now, likely fraudulent assessments—their actions are unacceptable. I hope FEMA learns from their inaccuracies and makes the internal changes needed to properly address the next emergency.”
Kelly and Haughtaling urged the audience at Ave Maria Catholic Academy gym in Howard Beach to have a National Flood Insurance Program-trained engineer diagnose repair/rebuild cost. They also handed out a list of items policy owners need to be mindful of regarding reviewing their claims and dealing with FEMA and their insurance companies, including:
- Most homes had foundation damage
- Engineering denials were fraudulent
- Beware of the “earth movement” scam
- Beware of the “preexisting condition” scam
- Floor to ceiling sheetrock is covered
- Electrical systems must be replaced
- Mold is covered
- Warped floors are covered
- Beware of price fixing
- Most estimates omitted tax
- All siding is covered
- Matching carpet/floors/cabinets are covered
Asked why he has not heard from any potential victims in Howard Beach, Kelly said, “I think what has happened at this point is a defeatist attitude…it’s a tremendous incentive to sign up.”
Kelly reminded Howard Beach policy holders of the hard Sept. 15 deadline to file. Anyone who has any legal questions regarding their claim should call (844) 33-SANDY, or log on to ghwlegal.com.
By Michael V. Cusenza
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
