A Jersey City, N.J. man has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against a group of insurers he says is denying claims based on an allegedly flawed definition of a “basement.”

The named insurance-company defendants—all issuers of flood policies under the “Write Your Own” program with the Federal Emergency Management Agency—include New Jersey Manufacturers, State Farm, Hartford, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Selective, Assurant, Fidelity National, and Philadelphia Contributionship. The breach-of-contract suit, filed Dec. 13, also leaves the door open to include more WYO insurers.

The specific claim from Jersey City’s Patrick Donnelly stems from 2011’s Hurricane Irene. Donnelly had a flood policy issued under the WYO program by NJM’s New Jersey Re-Insurance Co.

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