Judge dismisses fraud claim in McIntosh v. State Farm®

State Farm received a ruling yesterday from the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Mississippi. Judge L.T. Senter issued a summary judgment in McIntosh v. State Farm, dismissing plaintiffs' claim of fraud regarding the use of engineering reports in the handling of their claim.

Judge Senter has confirmed what State Farm has said all along – this is a basic wind/water dispute and plaintiffs cannot prove fraud.

Shortly after the storm, State Farm paid the limit on the McIntoshes' flood policy and also paid in excess of $36,000 for wind damage. 
 
This ruling follows Judge Senter's April 4, 2008 ruling that the Katrina Litigation Group (KLG) attorneys cannot represent plaintiffs in McIntosh or any other Katrina litigation filed against State Farm in Mississippi federal court. In that ruling, Judge Senter also barred testimony from Cori and Kerri Rigsby, two independent adjusters who handled State Farm claims following Katrina, in any cases involving KLG or the Scruggs Katrina Group (SKG).