Judge orders release of Sandy documents

Some of the nation's largest insurance companies are being ordered to hand over thousands of documents related to Superstorm Sandy claims amid allegations some reports may have been falsified to avoid

News 12 Staff

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Nov 15, 2014, 4:18 AM

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Updated 3,779 days ago

Some of the nation's largest insurance companies are being ordered to hand over thousands of documents related to Superstorm Sandy claims amid allegations some reports may have been falsified to avoid paying homeowners.

Debbie Gialanze, of Long Beach, says she was denied money from her flood insurance policy because an engineer hired by her insurance company claimed erosion and not the storm caused her home to shift. Her attorney, Denis Kelly, says the erosion claim is ridiculous.

Kelly claims he has proof the company that did the engineering study, U.S. Forensics, falsified a report involving a Long Beach home. He points to an engineering report that initially found a home was structurally damaged by the flooding, but those findings were later crossed out and a second paragraph was rewritten to say the damage was not caused by flooding.

Kelly presented the document as evidence to federal Judge Gary Brown, who issued a report saying engineers at U.S. Forensics "secretly rewrote the report reversing its conclusion." Brown called the actions reprehensible and ordered all insurance companies being sued by Sandy victims to release thousands of documents related to their cases.

The insurance company involved in the case, Wright Insurance, issued a statement saying, "We respect Judge Brown's opinion and are not at liberty to discuss the order in more detail." U.S. Forensic has not responded to News 12 Long Island's request for a comment.