Law - State Farm Settlement Rejected By Judge Settlement, Judge, Law, Farm, State

Title : "State Farm Settlement Rejected By Judge".Law,Business U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter rejected a Mississippi class-action settlement for Hurricane Katrina damage, against State Farm.  Judge Senter claimed that the proposed settlement favored the needs of the insurance company over those of the policyholders.      Senter asked for more information before he would approve any settlement.      The initial agreement called for $80 million to be used to settle the 640 lawsuits in Mississippi, with an additional amount of at least $50 million earmarked for settlement of reopened claims.  However, the two parts of the agreement were submitted as separate settlements.  Judge Senter hinted that the settlement should include both current litigants as well as other policyholders.      Judge Senter said to be a true global settlement, any proposed arrangement should take all of the State Farm claims into consideration, and such a settlement should represent a compromise that both parties will find attractive.  It would be wise for the parties who have proposed the current class settlement to broaden the scope of the settlement to include the representatives of those parties currently engaged in litigation.       Mississippi Attorney General had been working with State Farm to reach the settlement. The state of Mississippi filed a major insurance fraud lawsuit against the insurer for fraudulently denying claims.      For more information or questions on insurance fraud lawsuits, please contact a qualified consumer fraud attorney.