State Farm Settles Another Katrina Claim Lawsuit in Miss.

March 30, 2007

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. has reached another settlement with a Mississippi Gulf Coast couple who sued the insurer over damage to their home from Hurricane Katrina.

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State Farm spokesman Phil Supple told The Associated Press the settlement with Virginia and John Roper Sr. was reached Wednesday, but had no other details and terms were not disclosed.

"We've come to an agreement and we're moving forward,'' Supple said late Wednesday. "We're in a spirit of resolution on these and this is another example.''

Trial in the lawsuit was to begin April 9. The case was to be heard by federal Judge Bernard A. Friedman, a Michigan judge assigned to the lawsuit after Southern Mississippi district judges disqualified themselves because John Roper is a federal judge.

The company recently decided it will no long offer new homeowner policies in Mississippi and has been working with the state to settle claims.

The couple sought more than $75,000 in actual damages and an unspecified amount in punitive damages. They originally filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, but moved the case to federal court where hundreds of Mississippi residents have sued State Farm and other insurers.