Qui Tam

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The Rigsby sisters have now prevailed in the highest court of the land in their decade long fight against State Farm.1 The Rigsby sisters were catastrophe adjusters working for State Farm on Hurricane Katrina claims. I have noted this case for some time:

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Continue Reading State Farm Claims Whistleblowers Win in United States Supreme Court and May Get Additional Evidence of Wrongdoing

One of the last remaining Hurricane Katrina cases is the Qui Tam litigation involving the Rigsby sisters’ allegations that State Farm fraudulently overcharged the government when handling NFIP flood claims. The Rigsby sisters alleged State Farm overpaid NFIP flood claims it adjusted to reduce the amount owed under the all risk policies State Farm issued. A jury verdict this week found that State Farm was fraudulent in its claims conduct when adjusting National Flood Insurance claims.…

Continue Reading State Farm Found Guilty of Fraudulent Claims Conduct in Rigsby Qui Tam Case

Reports indicate that District Court Judge Halil S. Ozerden, sitting in the Southern District of Mississippi, is ready to set the trial date in the Rigsby case. If you have not followed the litigation, Chip Merlin wrote about the case in his posts, State Farm Whistle-Blower Suit Regarding Altered Expert Reports Continues and Thoughts Regarding State Farm Rigsby Qui Tam and the Speed of the Oil Spill.…

Continue Reading State Farm Rigsby Qui Tam Matter is Ready for Trial

Slabbed has been dogged regarding its reporting on the Mississippi qui tam litigation involving State Farm. A recent post, Rigsbys file “Motion to Reconsider Scope of Proceedings in Light of Evidence Adduced in Discovery” – ask Court for additional time to conduct Discovery into “the Scheme,” provides some insight regarding the flood adjustment techniques required by National Flood versus how flood adjusters in the field actually do their job.…

Continue Reading Flood Adjustment Methods Discovered in Qui Tam Case

The media is trying to scoop each other on the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In State Farm’s hometown of Bloomington, Illinois, the Pantagraph ran a story about State Farm’s Hurricane Katrina litigation. A massive and unfinished novel could be written on that subject. I found the article by Ryan Denhem, How State Farm Fought Through the Second Storm, to be far too light an analysis of some of the most important insurance coverage litigation ever waged.…

Continue Reading The Hurricane Katrina Five Year Anniversary is Noted as New Hurricanes Lurk in the Atlantic Ocean

The Gulf Coast has hot and calm days that are merciless for those on the water. I recall my teenage years in Mississippi, stripping to briefs and jumping off a sailboat that was going nowhere fast on a calm morning race in Mobile Bay. I was thinking about that while attending a deposition of Chris McIntosh in Gulfport yesterday and after reading emails from marine engineers who suggest that it will take several months, rather than weeks, for the worst of the oil spill onslaught to reach Florida.…

Continue Reading Thoughts Regarding State Farm Rigsby Qui Tam and the Speed of the Oil Spill

An important evidentiary hearing concerning alleged wrongful claims practices is taking place in Mississippi. Since the allegations partially involve an insurance company obtaining altered or biased reports from experts, it should be studied by those with similar concerns in other areas of the country. The primary issue in this case is whether State Farm adjusted flood losses so that the Federal Government paid too much on those flood claims through the National Flood Program. The lawsuit contends that State Farm had a motive for doing so because it could minimize the amount owed under its own all risk insurance policies which exclude flood damage.
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Continue Reading State Farm “Qui Tam” Hearing Raises Issues of Wrongful Adjustment

There are still a number of Hurricane Katrina cases we are actively litigating in Mississippi. One of the cases being followed closely by Slabbed is the Qui Tam litigation, brought by the two Rigsby sisters that worked for State Farm following catastrophes. The Rigsbys claim that the federal government paid more in National Flood payments than what was owed because State Farm altered engineering reports and made outcome oriented adjustments, which maximized flood related damaged so that the amounts paid under State Farm’s policies would be minimized.…

Continue Reading State Farm Whistle-Blower Suit Regarding Altered Expert Reports Continues