BOUND BROOK, N.J. — A group of 17 property owners have filed suit against NJ Transit and New Jersey’s Somerset County over damage from September 2021 flooding, saying their losses resulted from a stalled commuter train that prevented a flood gate from properly closing.
NJ.com reports photos and videos from the Sept. 1, 2021, incident in Bound Brook show an NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line train stuck in flood waters, with a flood gate held open by the stopped train. A suit filed in Superior Court in Somerset County claims NJ Transit “recklessly dispatched the train when flooding was forecast, causing it to get stuck between the flood gates. Attorney Jeremy E. Abay said Middle Brook, which was responsible for the flooding, was already 2 feet above flood stage when Train No. 5451 left Newark Penn Station at 8:45 p.m. and that the train “should never have left” the station.
The suit also names the county and its public works department for failing to close the floodgates before and during flooding.
The suit says the plaintiffs were not protected by flood insurance because the area was no longer considered a flood zone after completion of a flood control project in 2016 that included the flood gates. As a result, repairs from the flooding were out-of-pocket expenses.
The plaintiffs include 13 residential property owners and residents and two busineses — a bar and restaurant and an auto repair firm.
That’s not how FEMA flood zones work…