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October 22–29, 2017, marks the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy striking the East Coast, leaving major devastation in its wake. Many property owners are still trying to rebuild and to settle claims with insurers. In one recent case, a federal district court in New Jersey has ruled that a jury would have to decide whether an insured and its insurer had reached a settlement of the insured's Superstorm Sandy claim for wind damage to its property before the insured had filed its lawsuit.

Coleman Enterprises, Co., a private business operated and partially owned by Peter McKeown, owned a two-story building in Sea Bright, N.J., that consisted of four commercial units on the first floor and six apartments on the second floor. On Oct. 29, 2012, the building sustained wind and flood damage during Superstorm Sandy, and Coleman submitted a claim to its insurance carrier, Scottsdale Insurance Company, for wind damage.

Differing estimates

Scottsdale retained Nelson Architectural Engineers, Inc., to evaluate the building and determine whether any distress had been caused by Sandy. On Dec. 13, 2012, Robin Kemper, a licensed professional engineer employed by Nelson, inspected the building. Kemper prepared a report dated Jan. 4, 2013, that estimated the cost to repair the wind damage to be $314,222.49.