U.S. Grand Jury Indicts “Dickie” Scruggs in Suspected Bribery Scheme

November 30, 2007

  • November 30, 2007 at 7:27 am
    adjusterjoe says:
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    AZINSMAN:

    I know soemone will correct me if wrong, but the attempteed bribery was to a state judge, not federal. Circuit Court in MS is a state court. Still you are absolutely 100% correct in that $50,000 is an insult for a bribe for the money in play. I am sure this will be one of the arguements Scruggs uses; that the amount offered is a joke. And that the offer was made soley by the other lawyer, without his knowledge or consent.

  • November 30, 2007 at 8:32 am
    Ben Dover says:
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    Another crappy sleezy attorney getting indicted.

    What a win for State Farm

  • November 30, 2007 at 11:35 am
    Kim David says:
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    Is this like a witch hunt to get Scruggs???

    Why in this world would he bribe a Judge when he has overwhelming evidence to win every trial by Judge or Jury?

    It’s not logical?
    Katrina suits are a slam dunk.

    This man stood up for the people.
    He went up against the system fighting for homeowners that paid for a policy to provide financial protection for their home & contents.
    They paid extra to waive the added hurricane deductible………….BUT
    the Policy does not provide Hurricane Insurance.
    Wake up Homeowners….
    There is no such thing as Hurricane Ins.

    How can they add hurricane deductibles without providing hurricane insurance?

    How can they get away with this &
    then deny claims by the thousands?
    Then have the nerve to call us stupid red necks for not reading the policy!

    The only man that stood up to this betrayal
    was Scruggs. God Bless Him!

    He won every battle, then he won the war.
    State Farm setteled, then went to a higher court.

    WAS State Farm accused of altering engineering reports or offering money to change reports, shred evidence & contributions to political campaigns for favors?
    Last 3 Insurance Commissioners in LA went to Prison.

    Didn’t State Farm pay off 100% of claims when the homeowner provided a video of Katrina winds?
    Where are those videos?

    No matter what the outcome,
    Scruggs will forever be known as
    “The Man… For The People” &
    the best Southern Attorney is US History.

    I am deeply saddened by this news.
    It is scarey to see heroes taken down.
    Face it, we don’t have many heroes these days.

    Where do we go now?
    How many times can Victims of Katrina loose the same home?

    Make no mistake about it!
    We will have another Katrina.
    Next time, it might be you!

  • November 30, 2007 at 11:48 am
    Kim David says:
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    You are right…
    but you are on the wrong side of the fence.

    Betrayal to Americans on our own land
    should not be tolerated.

    People who sell false policies should be
    the bunch shipped off to a third world country.

    They don’t hang you, they stick your head on a picket fence for selling a policy without coverage.
    No need for nooses!

  • December 1, 2007 at 12:00 pm
    Kim David says:
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    It was Howard Hughes that said,
    “Every Man Has A Price”

    If anyone wanted to buy a Judge….
    it would cost much more than $40,000!

    I know Judges with robes that are filthy dirty! They are rotten to the core.
    They take up for criminal sex offenders and allow innocent women to become victim again.
    No one goes up against this kind?

    Why do they want Scruggs?
    I have alot of evidence that will bring down Prosecutors & Judges….

    I begged for help!

  • November 30, 2007 at 12:47 pm
    Realist says:
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    I’m not suprised at all. Now only a matter of time before Spitzer is indited too.
    Plus, his brother-in -law Trent Lott bailed early out of the Senate to not have the two year moratorium about going to work as a lobbyest.

  • November 30, 2007 at 12:51 pm
    JR says:
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    Arrogance and greed.

  • November 30, 2007 at 12:56 pm
    Brian says:
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    Gee,

    Do you think just maybe this has any possible connection to trent Lott’s decision to resign before the first of the year. NAH……

  • November 30, 2007 at 12:58 pm
    LSC says:
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    Let’s give the counselor his day in court before we convict. What concerns me more in this article is the associated presses’ coverstion of good ole American Greenbacks to euros. We march steadily toward the new world order. The bribe was after all in our currency.

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:04 am
    Patriot says:
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    I agree! what’s with the euro conversion. Who gives a ****. And Trent and his theiving brother-in-law need a bit of tar and feather..
    I have some feathers!!

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:11 am
    Bill says:
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    Why is quoting in euros any concern? Do you think that IJ is doing that because their site is being read internationally?
    Read a news report from Europe and they do the same in reverse. Who cares?

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:13 am
    DesertRat says:
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    gotta love it!

    “The alleged bribery scheme stems from a lawsuit filed in March against Scruggs by a Jackson, Mississippi, law firm, Jones, Funderburg, Sessums, Peterson & Lee in a dispute over $26.5 million in attorneys’ fees. “

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:14 am
    Anonymous says:
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    We don’t need these communist bastards. At least ship them off to a third world country where they can work to help the poor and unfortunate… oh wait there would be no money involved. I’ll get the nooses ready.

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:19 am
    Bill says:
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    According to an editorial in today’s WSJ, the fees in question are from a case involving State Farm. If this mess does bring down Scruggs, how ironic is it that it comes from a State Farm suit?

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:21 am
    adjusterjoe says:
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    The fees which are the subject of the suit are for Hurricane Katrina

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:31 am
    N. Judge says:
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    This story you have to love. Now the truth to Lott’s resignation comes out. He didn’t have the fight in him for this battle. Even if it isn’t his shame, the family taint would be something to overcome in a bid for re-election.

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:36 am
    JR says:
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    You’ve gotta love this judge who refused the alleged bribe and cooperated with the FBI. I wonder his political pursuasion?

  • November 30, 2007 at 1:41 am
    concerned agent says:
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    The only problem is that now Trent Lott can handpick his successor and the people in Hicksville will say ‘if Trent likes him, he’s ok.’ The handpicked successor to Lott will be the lapdog of every crook and crooked lawyer in the state. Remember, birds of a feather flock together.

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:19 am
    WSJ Reader says:
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    Unfortunately in this case, the indictment does not guarantee a conviction. However, we can take comfort from the Wall Street Journal folks who have read the indictment and made the following comment in their editorial today:

    “The indictment reads like something out of a bad John Grisham novel, complete with piles of cash delivered secretly and wiretapped conversations featuring phrases like “bodies buried.” The accused claim to be innocent, but our reading of the indictment is that they are going to need very good defense counsel.”

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:23 am
    M says:
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    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…..HEEEEEHEEEEEEE… HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA… it is about time!

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:25 am
    adjusterjoe says:
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    Concerned:

    The governor gets to appoint the replacement Senator. The Gov is Republican and there are two Republican representatives in waiting, Wicker and Pickering. You will recall Pickering’s father was rejected by the Senate for confirmation as a federal judge.

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:37 am
    concerned agent says:
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    Trent Lott is republican, the governor is republican, and in their part of the woods they all sleep in the same bed. Do you really believe the republican governor would appoint a republican who was not their lapdog? To appoint a democrat would get all their election funds cut off by the republican central committee.

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:55 am
    Katrina Survivor says:
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    Don’t count Uncle Dickie out yet. He’s sharper and smarter than any US Attorney or Justice Department employee. He pulled Big Tobacco down by the short hairs and shaved State Farm’s belly with a rusty razor. Wait and see what happens.

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:55 am
    adjusterjoe says:
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    All are republicans, but Trent will not be the one to choose. Barbour will. He was chair of RNC, so I don’t really see him taking marching oders from Lott. As said before, word already out it will be one of the two Republican reps.

  • November 30, 2007 at 2:58 am
    adjusterjoe says:
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    Katrina Suvivor:
    Your folksy demeanor is not lost. However, I happen to agree, all appears bad for Scruggs now, but I wouldn’t bet against him. Not that I agree with him.

  • November 30, 2007 at 3:07 am
    AZINSMAN says:
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    Let’s do the math, Scruggs stands to “share” as little as he can of $26.5 million in fees BUT he is only going to pay the judge $50,000?

    The “Federal Judge” was insulted. To take a bribe after attaining a federal judge position, the numbers have to be much larger.

    If Scruggs was not so cheap, the judge may not have busted him. The liberals beating up the liberals. Sounds Great!

    “Scrubb’s” is only sharing less than 1/10th of one percent of the total fees? If I was the judge, I would have busted him too!

  • November 30, 2007 at 5:00 am
    KOB says:
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    I just wonder, if the allegations are true, whether this was the first time that Scruggs and his boys pulled some strings with the judges. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if other lawyers in the state try similar stunts.

  • December 1, 2007 at 11:32 am
    Bill Lockhart says:
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    Kim, if you have to ask why he would bribe a judge when he has all the evidence to win every case, then it’s clear you haven’t even read what this case about.

    Go back and read the article before you start making wild statements.

    Scruggs and party were sued by attorneys alleging he was stiffing them out of legal fees owed for work they did on a case.

    A Scruggs cohort offered the Judge $50,000 to rule in their favor. the Judge turned them in to the feds. who did a bit of wiretapping to help build their case.

    According to the Wall Street Journal who has studied the indictment, “Scruggs is going to need a very good attorney’.

    Regarding selling policies with no coverage, presumably you are talking about the homeowners policies with concurrent causation clauses. These policies state that if you first have windstorm damage, then have flood damage, you no longer have windstorm coverage.

    I agree with you 100%, this is one of the most despicable practices insurers could ever pull on their clients. And it was approved by state regulators in 48 states! Why? They are supposed to guard against this kind of thing.

    As far as I know, only State Farm and Nationwide used this language, there may be others that I don’t know about.

    Despicable is the only thing you can say about this.

    Re Trent Lott’s little story, he bought homeowners insurance from State Farm, and bought flood insurance with a much lower limit, even though his house was very close to the water.

    After Katrina, his house was a slab. Pretty good evidence of storm surge damage.

    He admitted it was a flood loss by filing for policy limits under the flood policy. Then, because he tried to save a few bucks by not insuring to value for flood, he turned to State Farm who pointed out that flood was excluded. He never tried to collect for windstorm per se.

    In this case, State Farm was correct, and Lott was trying to commit fraud (does it run in the family?).

    He went into a rage and vowed to “bring the industry down!” Instead, he is retiring before the end of the year so he can take a job lobbying congress. He has to wait two years if he retires after 12/31.

    Lott claims he can’t read and understand the flood exclusion so State Farm should pay him.

    Lott is an attorney (don’t they teach attorney’s to read in Mississippi?) and homeowner’s policies are written on a 9th grade reading level. I’m not even going to comment on that.

    Homeowners policies are boring as hell to read, but anyone with a high school education can understand them, but not attorney Trent Lott.

    So he uses his position in government to try to force the insurance company to pay his claim, which is clearly excluded.

    All he had to do was to buy some excess flood insurance, so his home was properly covered, but he tried to be so smart, like too many insureds, and underinsure to save a few bucks. Then, when he got caught short, it wasn’t his fault!

    I hate to say it because I think what they did with the concurrent causation clause was worse than despicable, but I’m on State Farm’s side relative to Trent Lott. I’m sorry they settled with him (undisclosed amount).

  • December 2, 2007 at 3:53 am
    Kim David says:
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    Thank you… I never knew what this was about…and you are right, I should have checked the story out before I commented.

    I retained Scruggs and kept calling to check the status. No one would return my call & no one was available.

    It was After Judge Senter’s verdict….
    that Scruggs Secretary informed me that my suit was not included in the 630.
    She said they did not receive it in time and that is a lie.

    I have emails that confirm Scruggs receiving my contract along with photo evidence.

    I was really upset but I knew better than to even think about going up against Scruggs.

    I needed the Judicial system to protect me from a pervert sex offender that was stalking me. They made me the villian & treated me worst than the stalker.

    I caught a Prosecutor obstructing Justice, tampering with evidence and throwing cases out to help the criminals attorney.
    When I requested a special prosecutor the Judge threw me out of the courthouse.
    15 Police Reports filed, all cases were thrown out for lack of evidence…..
    I had sworn affidavits from police officers, forensic evidence, photos & videos of the stalker exposing himself on a daily basis.

    They black balled my name & I think that is why I got shut out of Scruggs 630.

    They are close friends with Hood….

    I’ve never been arrested or in trouble.

    Contact me, I have all the files…
    You would not believe it!
    KDNOLA@AOL.COM

  • December 2, 2007 at 4:21 am
    Anonymous says:
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    Comment:
    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI …File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – View as HTML
    THOMAS C. and PAMELA McINTOSH. PLAINTIFFS. V. CIVIL ACTION NO.1:06CV1080 LTS-JMR. STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY,. FORENSIC ANALYSIS & ENGINEERING CO., …
    http://www.insurancecoverageblog

  • December 2, 2007 at 4:44 am
    Anonymous says:
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    Hood accused State Farm of reporting false statistics, saying the insurer asserted it had settled 99 percent of its Katrina claims. The Attorney General said if the insurer considered a residence damaged by water, it didn’t consider it a claim at all. He also accused the company of withholding claimants’ complete files.

    “They agreed and the state court ordered them to give insureds their entire claims file. One adjuster would say to pay and another would say not to pay,” Hood said. “State Farm knew there were two reports and they were sitting on them. I think that’s awful.”

  • December 2, 2007 at 5:04 am
    Anonymous says:
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    reports prior to the issuance of Haag’s “Hurricane Katrina Storm Damage Survey” issued in. October 2005. …… FAEC Case No: 530-0088-05-25. Dear Mr; Perr. …
    http://agjimhood.com/pressreleases

  • December 2, 2007 at 5:13 am
    Anonymous says:
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    Read this one … FAEC Case No ; 530-0088-05-25

  • December 3, 2007 at 8:17 am
    Anon says:
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    Hang on… the lawers are fighting over the privelage to represent these poor, poor people that Bush has so viciously attacked? Wow, that’s pretty noble of them.

    Oh, wait… what’s that…

    Oh, they’re fighting over money. But I thought this wasn’t about lawers getting rich it was about justice for the homeowners against the big-bad insurance companies. Hmmm…

  • December 3, 2007 at 8:26 am
    N. Judge says:
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    A contract is a contract. This wasn’t fine print and it was approved by regulators. And I don’t know of any insurer that does not have the concurrent loss language. However, I think they may apply it differently to essentially say it does not make the uncovered, covered. Won’t matter; State Farm with the majority of insureds and the questioned practices, in they end may have no obligation to pay.

    As for why someone would bribe, one the cases aren’t all going Scrubbs way. In fact, even with politics on his side he has lost. However, greed + lack of ethics is almost always the reason for a bribe. Innocent until proven guilty? Well, that really for the judicial system and jurors. The general public is free to have it’s opinion. Don’t people believe Spector and Simpson to be guilty of crimes where they were never convicted?

    Individuals lose their homes every day to things they can’t control or things they could have. Neighbor’s fire spreads to theirs. Meth lab next door. Water line breaks while they’re not at home and goes a week without being discovered.

    This argument of natural or manmade in the LA is a veiled attempt to find coverage for the victims of Katrina where there was no coverage and to make an industry pay for a disaster where they never collected premiums. If not for Katrina, these people would still have their homes. If not for Katrina, the levees would not have failed. Bottom line: that makes this a natural disaster.

    I feel sorry for anyone who loses their home but I feel less sorry for someone who has built their home below sea level, been warned and still wants to built it back at the nation’s expense. For all of the money spent in New Orleans and LA in the last 27 months or so, we could have built a nice new city for these folks. But they want to continue to live in the next Atlantis. We say that’s their right. But pardon me if I resent paying for it.

  • December 3, 2007 at 8:28 am
    N. Judge says:
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    Be angry that the schools failed you.

  • December 3, 2007 at 9:41 am
    wudchuck says:
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    i think everyone forgets a few things about certain items. first and foremost, the tobacco suit should have included the US Gov’t. reason, they had the combination to cigarettes for years held in a locked vault. THEY KNEW (congress) for years it was bad and the product was labeled as such. So, why was just the tobacco company held liable? why not the US Government as well? so did scruggs not want to mess w/the us government becuase of TRENT?! um..um..um…… sounds like a big circle…

  • December 3, 2007 at 11:48 am
    wudchuck says:
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    another note: if we sued the cigarette company — why have we not done that with the alcohol industry? reason we sued was due to health related and costs, can’t alcohol cause medical/health related issues? is it not addictive? so why did we make a big issue on tobacco?

    interesting…and scruggs was apart of the big $$$ tobacco deal…so he’s got money and then wanted to fight over the money on the katrina issue…um…

  • December 3, 2007 at 12:20 pm
    Undveteran says:
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    Just read Dickie’s quote on the opening pages of the ATRA’s 2006 report on Judicial Hellholes.

    “What I call the ‘magic jurisdiction,’ [is] where the judiciary is elected with
    verdict money. The trial lawyers have established relationships with the
    judges that are elected; they’re State Court judges; they’re popul[ists].
    They’ve got large populations of voters who are in on the deal, they’re
    getting their [piece] in many cases. And so, it’s a political force in their
    jurisdiction, and it’s almost impossible to get a fair trial if you’re a
    defendant in some of these places. The plaintiff lawyer walks in there and
    writes the number on the blackboard, and the fi rst juror meets the last one
    coming out the door with that amount of money. . . . These cases are not
    won in the courtroom. They’re won on the back roads long before the case
    goes to trial. Any lawyer fresh out of law school can walk in there and win
    the case, so it doesn’t matter what the evidence or law is.”
    — Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, Mississippi trial lawyer, whose firm will collect $1.4 billion in legal fees from the tobacco settlements and has now shifted his focus to lawsuits against HMOs and asbestos claims.

  • December 4, 2007 at 8:45 am
    Stat Guy says:
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    There’s just no honor among thieves, is there?

  • December 4, 2007 at 8:51 am
    Stat Guy says:
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    I don’t for a minute believe a word you say but only wonder who lined your pockets?

  • December 4, 2007 at 9:22 am
    Diogenes says:
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    Kim-
    I wonder if anybody has pointed that out to Scruggs housekeeper yet.
    I see that you have become quite active in postings. I disagree with your point of view.
    IF you would learn to SPELL (you lose your house, not loose it), perhaps your point of view would be more persuasive. Perhaps they also refer to you as a ‘redneck’ because you write like one!

  • December 4, 2007 at 10:20 am
    Diogenes says:
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    Bill Lockhart-
    I follow a lot of your (usually) intelligent comments on this blog. Unfortunately, you completely misunderstand the Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause. Look into David Rossmiller’s “Insurance Coverage Blog” and look back into his reasoning that the ACC Clause is not even applicable to Katrina losses.
    Additionally, you are causing me to quote the clause in question (something that I regard as extremely pedantic.)

    “A. We do not insure for any loss caused directly or indirectly by any of the FOLLOWING. SUCH LOSS is excluded regardless of any other cause or event CONTRIBUTING CONCURRENTLY OR IN ANY SEQUENCE to the loss. THESE EXCLUSIONS apply whether or not the loss event results in widespread damage or effects a substantial area.” (CAPS added).
    There are some key words in that clause, namely the FOLLOWING losses are excluded. Water damage seems to be the most controversial. AT NO POINT OR TIME does the ACC Clause remove windstorm damage from coverage. It is my understanding that the ACC Clause was only used ONCE as a means of declining coverage (and that due to an error by outside counsel, who was quickly called on the carpet and told that was NOT the company’s position).
    If you are going to continue to defame the ACC Clause, please read it first!

  • December 4, 2007 at 10:50 am
    Kim David says:
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    Excuse me for the typo….
    You can’t even leave your real name &
    that shows that you are most certainly a
    Coward.
    Would rather be a red neck than a coward!

  • December 5, 2007 at 2:44 am
    Anonymous says:
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    TO THE UNTOUCHABLES. Edward B. Rust, Jr., will be happy to tell you that he is the Chief Executive Officer of State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. He has deep family ties to State Farm, as his father and grand father have both served in that capacity. He will also tell you that he is an educated man who has been to law school and is a past practicing attorney. In addition, he was the chairman of the Coalition for Excellence in Education and a member of George W. Bush’s transition advisory team on education. So with all of that education why will he not deal with his company’s inbred greed. Does he not know that we are in the 21st century where anyone can look on the internet and see the billions of dollars that are being spent to protect their empire from the consumer? In Utah, the company was fine $25 million in punitive damages, in part for the “systematic destruction of documents and systematic manipulation of individual claim files to conceal claim mishandling”. An Idaho appeals court fined the company $9.5 million in punitive damages for making use of “a completely bogus” outside bill review company that helped lower the cost of medical bills. In October of 1999, an Illinois jury rendered a $456 million judgment against State Farm and an additional $730 million in punitive damages for the insurer’s breach of contract with auto policy holders by relying on generic replacement parts. Rust was adamant in his insistence that fraud had not been committed. A class action law suit in the name of State Farm policy holders was filed in 2003 for breach of contract and statutory consumer fraud in which $1.1 billion was awarded to plaintiffs. When a company is misleading the public, should that not be considered fraud? A consumer would go to prison for that type of behavior. State Farm will let you know that, in several states, fraud and abuse is pushing up the cost of auto insurance. A court in late 2001 reached an unfriendly consumer decision that could have the effect of reaching deep into the pockets of the consumer. Sharply higher jury awards in vehicular liability cases are putting additional upward pressure on auto insurance rates. The average jury award in auto liability cases rose from $187,000 to $269,000 in 2000, an increase of 44%. I question if any of the lawsuits would be necessary if the company would just fairly pay their claims. The company represents on their web-site that consumer protection is one of their most important goals, but do they really think that courts would be awarding multiple millions of dollars in bad faith claims if that were their emphasis? State Farm’s ratings are based on their financial strength. State Farm states that their high ratings are also based on strong claims paying ability. With this ability, why is it necessary for their policy holders to allege that the claims department was directed, in evaluating their cases, to take them to trial instead of settling within the limits of the policy? This practice exposed policyholders to judgments above the limits of their policies, when the company was attempting to make an effort to win smaller decisions. Two former in-house attorneys for State Farm contend that they were often called upon by the insurer to represent its’ policy holders and were forced to commit “unlawful and unethical activities, including requiring the two to stay silent about the rights of the policyholders”. State Farm seems to have reckless indifference for the truth for the purpose of corporate and personal economic gain. State Farm should know that continued scrutiny of their claims paying practices will continue especially with the advent of new claims that are surfacing from lawsuits revolving around Hurricane Katrina. A message to Mr. Rust, and any employee of the company that is acting in bad faith for its policy holders.

  • December 5, 2007 at 3:22 am
    AZ Ins Man says:
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    You poor whiney liberal. If any atty. is your hero, your life is very sad. You need these guys to re-distribute OUR wealth as you have no hope of making any on your own.

    The FLOOD coverage is available from the federal govt. Did these people, living at BELOW SEA LEVEL, think to buy flood insurance? NO, that could never happen? As usual, whether wind or water caused the damage, the insured wants coverage. Of course, regardless of whether there was an actual video tape of the home standing until the rush of water leveled it, these whiners would file a claim and state no one told us to “read” the flood exclusion?
    The private insurers can NOT collect premium for flood, only the govt. can. No premium, NO COVERAGE!!

    I bet Hillary is another hero of yours?

  • December 5, 2007 at 3:35 am
    wudchuck says:
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    to tell you the truth, there are insurance companies that do offer that coverage besides the GOVERNMENT…some companies that do, do not tell they have the coverage and that is what is discouraging policyholders…but the point is that each policyholder should be aware of the coverage they have and not take it for granted…and that includes auto!

  • December 5, 2007 at 4:15 am
    Sam says:
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    I just read that one of the attorneys indicted along with Scruggs has changed his plea from not-guilty to guilty, and will be cooperating with prosecutors. This does not bode well for either Mr. Scruggs. Tricky Dickey appears to be an appropriate nickname for the elder Scruggs.

  • December 5, 2007 at 5:31 am
    Anonymous says:
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    ANITA LEE
    calee@sunherald.com
    More insurance coverage
    Amended complaint against State Farm, vendors
    Exhibits to the amended complaint
    MOST-READ STORIES
    Reggie Bush: Messiah or just mess?
    Cable One rates to increase
    Scruggs quits storm cases
    Man’s request embarrasses caregiver
    Lawyer pleads guilty, cooperating in case involving Scruggs
    Flood zone expands under FEMA maps
    Air/heat units are being stolen
    2 men arrested in store holdup
    Prostitution operation nets 19
    AROUND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
    The owner of an engineering firm hoped to make up to $1.5 million over three months by adjusting Hurricane Katrina claims for State Farm, borrowing $150,000 and establishing a line of credit with State Farm Bank to set up shop on the Mississippi Coast in September 2005, according to records filed late Tuesday in federal court.

    Because of the arrangement, Forensic Analysis & Engineering Corp. was beholden to State Farm, which wanted to minimize its Hurricane Katrina losses for wind damage, the lawsuit says. Another vendor that adjusted Katrina claims, the independent adjusting firm E.A. Renfroe & Co. Inc., at times owed 80 percent of its income to State Farm, the court records say.

    A team of policyholders’

  • December 5, 2007 at 5:46 am
    Anonymous says:
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    BILOXI – A State Farm employee who is helping

    attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs gather

    evidence against the company mentioned in

    passing that a shredder truck outside the State

    Farm Catastrophe Office made a deafening racket

    as it chewed up records.

    “Shredder truck?” repeated Scruggs, who is suing

    State Farm on behalf of 670 policyholders the

    company has refused to fully cover for Hurricane

    Katrina damages.

    “I just about jumped out of my chair,” Scruggs told

    the Sun Herald. “I’m very concerned when a big

    company like this, that is very litigation savvy,

    starts shredding original documents.”

  • December 6, 2007 at 12:23 pm
    Anonymous says:
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    No!!!

  • December 6, 2007 at 4:13 am
    Mary B. says:
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    good gawd Kim you are a total lunatic.

  • December 7, 2007 at 8:37 am
    American and proud of it. says:
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    Comment:This is
    TO THE UNTOUCHABLES. Edward B. Rust, Jr., will be happy to tell you that he is the Chief Executive Officer of State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. He has deep family ties to State Farm, as his father and grand father have both served in that capacity. He will also tell you that he is an educated man who has been to law school and is a past practicing attorney. In addition, he was the chairman of the Coalition for Excellence in Education and a member of George W. Bush’s transition advisory team on education. So with all of that education why will he not deal with his company’s inbred greed. Does he not know that we are in the 21st century where anyone can look on the internet and see the billions of dollars that are being spent to protect their empire from the consumer? In Utah, the company was fine $25 million in punitive damages, in part for the “systematic destruction of documents and systematic manipulation of individual claim files to conceal claim mishandling”. An Idaho appeals court fined the company $9.5 million in punitive damages for making use of “a completely bogus” outside bill review company that helped lower the cost of medical bills. In October of 1999, an Illinois jury rendered a $456 million judgment against State Farm and an additional $730 million in punitive damages for the insurer’s breach of contract with auto policy holders by relying on generic replacement parts. Rust was adamant in his insistence that fraud had not been committed. A class action law suit in the name of State Farm policy holders was filed in 2003 for breach of contract and statutory consumer fraud in which $1.1 billion was awarded to plaintiffs. When a company is misleading the public, should that not be considered fraud? A consumer would go to prison for that type of behavior. State Farm will let you know that, in several states, fraud and abuse is pushing up the cost of auto insurance. A court in late 2001 reached an unfriendly consumer decision that could have the effect of reaching deep into the pockets of the consumer. Sharply higher jury awards in vehicular liability cases are putting additional upward pressure on auto insurance rates. The average jury award in auto liability cases rose from $187,000 to $269,000 in 2000, an increase of 44%. I question if any of the lawsuits would be necessary if the company would just fairly pay their claims. The company represents on their web-site that consumer protection is one of their most important goals, but do they really think that courts would be awarding multiple millions of dollars in bad faith claims if that were their emphasis? State Farm’s ratings are based on their financial strength. State Farm states that their high ratings are also based on strong claims paying ability. With this ability, why is it necessary for their policy holders to allege that the claims department was directed, in evaluating their cases, to take them to trial instead of settling within the limits of the policy? This practice exposed policyholders to judgments above the limits of their policies, when the company was attempting to make an effort to win smaller decisions. Two former in-house attorneys for State Farm contend that they were often called upon by the insurer to represent its’ policy holders and were forced to commit “unlawful and unethical activities, including requiring the two to stay silent about the rights of the policyholders”. State Farm seems to have reckless indifference for the truth for the purpose of corporate and personal economic gain. State Farm should know that continued scrutiny of their claims paying practices will continue especially with the advent of new claims that are surfacing from lawsuits revolving around Hurricane Katrina. A message to Mr. Rust, and any employee of the company that is acting in bad faith for its policy holders.
    Subject Posted By Posted On
    RE: Scruggs: Best Southern Attorney in US History Mary B. Dec 6, 2007, 4:13 pm
    I bet Hillary is another hero of yours Dec 6, 2007, 12:23 pm
    RE: RE: 1st time? Dec 5, 2007, 5:46 pm
    RE: flood insurance . Im American

  • December 7, 2007 at 11:43 am
    Kim David says:
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    You’ve said it all.
    Except you forgot about campaign contributions………………..

    Why it would have been a nice gesture if S/F would have tried to help their own clients during the worst natural diasaster in US History but no…they lied, denied,
    then spent millions to kick us after we were down.
    I was born in LA & grew up on the Bayou in MS. Had homes in both states and forced to sue both insurance companies for denying claims and refusing to pay living expenses.
    Seems they all have something in common.
    What I want out of is is to regulate the industry and demand fair policy.
    A Lunatic perhaps but an angry lunatic loaded with truth! That hurts worst than bullets!

  • December 10, 2007 at 12:16 pm
    History!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:
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    Each day, State Farm® employees find themselves in situations where integrity,
    honesty and trustworthiness come into play. While they may be hard-to-measure,
    these qualities are priceless when it comes to our customers having confidence
    in what we do and how we do it.
    Mr Rust This is not the spirit we need we need it to be real. Comply to what law
    the one,s you make God Help us all.
    The State Farm Code of Conduct has been in place for nearly 10 years and
    provides all employees ethical and legal guidelines they must follow. Every
    State Farm employee must comply with the letter of the law and the spirit of the
    law. Our culture is firmly rooted in being a compliant organization in very
    heavily regulated industries. We have a reporting system that brings
    indiscretions to our attention, and we’re committed to responding, when
    necessary, with discipline, corrective action and preventive measures. Our
    commitment to our customers is based on a strong ethical belief.

    I Say ********!!!!!!!!

  • February 1, 2008 at 3:34 am
    Kim David says:
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    “The State Farm Code of Conduct has been in place for nearly 10 years and provides all employees ethical and legal guidelines they must follow. Every State Farm employee must comply with the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.”

    You are correct….
    These Codes only provide financial protection for State Farm.
    Must meet State Farm Regulation for approval of the policy!

    There is not one Regulation, in any State,
    that protects the Insured or the Agents.

    Doesn’t the Insurance Commissioner receive
    Campaign Contributions from the Industry?
    Are they like paid to “keep the ghost clear?”

    There is not one Regulation that would enforce protection for the Insured.
    There is not one Regulation that protects
    the Agents!

    Why do we even need a Commissioner?
    He does not help us!

    Can you smell the rats?

  • February 2, 2008 at 8:13 am
    wudchuck says:
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    some are elected others are appointed. it doesn’t matter (or least it should have no influence) of contributions. supposed to be similar to the legal system, all things are supposed to be fair and clear. or are they? until the final outcome, we can only suspect. we have enough data from the various states to conclude that there is definatly something wrong.

  • July 15, 2009 at 5:57 am
    Kimi David says:
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    Scruggs shut me out of the 630 in State Farms settlement,AFTER he received my contract.
    His secretary was in on it, so she got hers too. ROTFLMAO !
    He is in prison & she is out of a job.
    Anybody that ever hurt me, got theirs.
    Ask the Almighty.

  • August 2, 2009 at 10:06 am
    KIM DAVID says:
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    GLAD HIS SECRETARY, CHARLENE
    IS OUT OF A JOB.



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