Articles by Michael Kunzelman

Mississippi Official Says Criminal Probe of State Farm has New Focus

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says his office opened a new criminal investigation of State Farm Insurance Cos. that is separate from its earlier probe of the insurer’s “crimes against policyholders” after Hurricane Katrina. Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm is suing …

Miss. Judge Removes Himself from Cases Amid Federal Probe

A Mississippi judge says he disqualified himself from hearing several lawsuits because federal authorities were investigating allegations that powerful plaintiffs attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs tried to illegally influence him in a different case. Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter had …

Katrina Victims Hit Corps of Engineers with Nearly 500K Claims

Hurricane Katrina’s victims have put a price tag on their suffering and it is staggering – including one plaintiff seeking the unlikely sum of $3 quadrillion. Insurance companies are among the claimants. The total number – $3,014,170,389,176,410 – is the …

Federal Appeals Court Reviewing Katrina Punitive Damage Award Against State Farm

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. is asking a federal appeals court to throw out a landmark $1 million punitive damage award to a Mississippi couple who sued the insurer for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina damage to their home. …

Appeals Court to Review Insurance Claim Verdict in Miss. Katrina Suit

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. is asking a federal appeals court to throw out a landmark $1 million punitive damage award to a Mississippi couple who sued the insurer for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina damage to their home. …

N.C. Engineering Firm to be Dropped from Miss. Katrina Insurance Suits

North Carolina-based Forensic Analysis and Engineering Corp., has reached a settlement with lawyers who have filed hundreds of lawsuits against State Farm Insurance Cos. on behalf of policyholders whose claims were denied by the insurer after Hurricane Katrina. Under terms …

Jury Favors La. Homeowner in Katrina Damage Suit Against State Farm

A jury on Nov. 7 sided with a south Louisiana couple in the first federal trial in Louisiana against State Farm Insurance Cos. over Hurricane Katrina damage. An attorney for plaintiffs Michael and Judy Kodrin and a State Farm spokesman …

La. AG Sues Insurers, Alleges Price-Fixing and Conspiracy

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti is suing the state’s largest property insurance companies, accusing insurers of conspiring to limit payments to policyholders after hurricanes Katrina and Rita and engaging in an elaborate price-fixing scheme. Foti’s wide-ranging lawsuit, filed in a …

State Farm Faces First Federal Trial in La. Over Katrina Damage

A jury in New Orleans heard opening statements on Oct. 5 in the first federal trial in Louisiana against State Farm Insurance Cos. for a policyholder’s lawsuit over Hurricane Katrina damage. The eight-member jury will be asked to decide whether …

State Farm Sues Mississippi Attorney General over Criminal Probe

State Farm Insurance Cos. is suing Mississippi’s attorney general for allegedly violating an agreement to end a criminal investigation of the insurer’s handling of claims on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, according to court papers unsealed last week. State …