ALBANY — Lawsuits accusing the Long Island Power Authority, LILCO and National Grid Electrical Services of negligence over fires that destroyed dozens of homes in Queens during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 can proceed, New York’s highest court ruled Tuesday.

In a 6-0 ruling, New York’s Court of Appeals rejected LIPA’s request to dismiss lawsuits filed by homeowners on Breezy Point who allege that LIPA was negligent by failing to shut off power to the electrical grid to the peninsula before the October 2012 storm. According to court documents, Con Edison, the power supplier for most of the five boroughs, did so pre-emptively. By failing to turn off the power to the Rockaway Peninsula, the surge of salt water made contact with live power lines resulting in a conflagration that destroyed more than 100 homes, plaintiffs allege.

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