Directory  News RegionalSearch by tag : ruby slippers, cookbook, south louisiana, culinary experience, culture family, reconstruction |
| State Farm settles Katrina cases |
|
|
|
| By The Associated Press | |
| Thursday, May 08 2008 | |
|
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The nation's largest insurance company has settled out of court with more than a dozen Mississippi policyholders whose lawyers were barred from representing them in lawsuits against the insurer over Hurricane Katrina damage, according to court filings Thursday.
State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. initiated or reopened settlement talks with policyholders after a federal judge in April disqualified their attorneys from handling up to 200 suits against the Bloomington, Ill.-based company. At least 13 homeowners were representing themselves, without an attorney, when they agreed to settle their suits for undisclosed terms, Thursday's court filings show. "We've always been willing to re-engage, one on one, with our customers about their claims," State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said. "We're willing to speak with them whether they're represented by counsel or not." State Farm made settlement overtures in letters it sent to policyholders whose lawyers were disqualified last month by U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. in Gulfport, Miss. Senter's ruling cited ethical breaches by well-known tort lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who led a team of attorneys in filing hundreds of cases against State Farm after the August 2005 hurricane. Senter said Scruggs made improper payments to Cori and Kerri Rigsby, sisters who were helping State Farm adjust Katrina claims on the coast. The Rigsby sisters secretly copied internal State Farm records and gave them to Scruggs, who later hired them as consultants. Scruggs withdrew from representing dozens of State Farm policyholders after he was indicted last year on charges that he tried to bribe a state judge. He has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing. Senter also barred Scruggs' former associates from working on the State Farm cases because the judge said they knew about the improper payments to the Rigsby sisters and didn't try to stop them. Fabin and Doris Ladnier, who sued State Farm for denying a claim on their Biloxi rental property, negotiated a settlement without an attorney. Doris Ladnier said she and her husband wanted to avoid the hassle of hiring a new lawyer. "It's very satisfying," she said of the settlement. "I think it turned out for the best." Judy Guice, a lawyer who has been hired by several former clients of the Scruggs Katrina Group, said she would advise policyholders to consult an attorney before they reach a settlement. But she doesn't fault anyone for forging ahead without one. "People have got to be able to put this behind them and move on with their lives," she said. Meanwhile, state insurance regulators are wrapping up a long-awaited report on State Farm's handling of policyholder claims after Katrina. The 18-month study of State Farm should be completed by the end of May, Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lee Harrell said Thursday. "I wish there was a quicker way to get there, but we have moved nonstop on this," Harrell said. Hundreds of coastal property owners have sued State Farm for denying their claim after the August 2005 hurricane. Many of the lawsuits challenged the company's refusal to pay for damage from Katrina's storm surge. Bookmark     |
| Next > |
|---|
| |||||||||
| Current Conditions: | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| More... | |||||||||
