Jaspan Schlesinger LLP announced today that Hon. Jeffrey D. Lebowitz, of counsel in the Firm’s Matrimonial and Family Law and Litigation Practice Groups and a retired Justice of the New York Supreme Court, has been appointed to review claims of privilege in a series of lawsuits filed by home owners and insurance companies on behalf of homeowners whose homes were destroyed by fire during Superstorm Sandy.
Appointed by Justice Bernice D. Siegal of the Queens County Supreme Court, who is overseeing the litigation, Lebowitz will review “privilege logs” during the discovery phase of lawsuits brought against National Grid and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). Lebowitz will submit his findings to the Court for final determination
Over a twenty-year tenure on the bench, Judge Lebowitz served in numerous levels of the New York State Judicial system, presiding over cases in the New York City Criminal, Civil and Family Courts. He also presided over the Matrimonial Part of the Queens County Supreme Court as well as the first mixed Criminal/Civil hybrid court part in the Greater Metropolitan Area. He was first appointed by former Mayor David Dinkins and was subsequently reappointed by Mayors Rudolph Guilianiand Michael Bloomberg.