Judge Dismisses Class Action, Attorney General Motion

Bloomington, Illinois, April, 17, 2007 -- U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter, Jr. has dismissed the Woullard v. State Farm lawsuit after an individual settlement was reached on the claim.  The Woullards were the named plaintiffs in a class action settlement brought by the Scruggs Katrina Group.  Judge Senter granted State Farm’s request to dismiss the class action on April 16, 2007 and as part of his ruling, found that Attorney General Jim Hood’s motion to intervene in the case was moot.

“State Farm is pleased to have reached a settlement with the Woullards as we continue to explore ways to put this string of litigation behind us and our customers,” said Mike Fernandez, Vice President of Public Affairs for State Farm. 

“This underscores our seriousness and resolve in addressing the limited number of Katrina claim issues that remain.  With the resolution process now underway with the Mississippi Insurance Department (MID), we've reached out to the Louisiana Department of Insurance to create a similar dialogue,” Fernandez said.

While State Farm has already paid more than $1.2 billion to help Mississippi policyholders rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the MID agreement seeks to resolve any remaining issues or differences of opinion in a fair and efficient manner.  State Farm is committing a minimum of $50 million to the process.

In his dismissal order, Judge Senter noted “State Farm is presently engaged in an effort to resolve its policyholders’ claims under a program negotiated with the Mississippi Department of Insurance.  This program follows, in part, the terms of the settlement agreement originally proposed…” in the Woullard action. 

While pointing out the agreement between the Mississippi Insurance Department and State Farm fell short of addressing certain reservations he had about the proposed Woullard settlement, the judge expressed hope that the State Farm/MID program would be a success.

State Farm began notifying eligible customers about details of the MID agreement in letters mailed out beginning April 13.