How about confidentiality? How about ID
theft? No doubt those stolen proprietary
documents include names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, maybe bank account numbers. Thats why they may go to the joint, and as State Farm operatives those boneheads are State Farm’s problem. Do you think those folks whose information was compromised will now sue State Farm for not protecting the said information? There was a way those birds could have brought their concerns to the light of day legitimately – instead they stupidly sought a payday.
Anyone know how I can get ahold of E.A. Renfroe…I’ve got a few hurricane claims I need to adjust and I need someone trustworthy out there to do the job. I hear their personnel are top drawer.
It would appear that many people have a vested interest in those documents never seeing the light of day. While I am not now, nor will I ever be, a fan of lawyers, cases like this require them. How much litigation could have been avoided had SF been completely above boards with their adjusting and claims handling?
Who says they didn’t handle things correctly? You assume that because two sisters/alleged felons turned over documents to the Scruggs Group/alleged felons #2 that State Farm is guilty?
We’ve seen how things have been turning out in the swamps of MS & LA. Many of the accusations made against the insurance companies are not holding up in federal court. Was State Farm totally blameless? Of course not. Were the sisters totally correct in their actions? I think time will tell. As for the Scruggs Group, I hope they have fun defending themselves against the well-deserved criminal contempt charges.
Scruggs is generally recognized by most civilized people as a local piece of human garbage from the bayou who’s made his fortune on the edge of the law and fraud. They should throw his fat behind into the slammer and dis-bar him. Why society tolerates people of his ilk who make a mockery of the justice system makes me want to vomit.
I just wonder if Mr Trent Lott is behind this, a little bit. He had bone to pick with State Farm,, That whiner just so happens to be related the Scruggs bruggs!
You may recall that ole Trent settled up with State Farm…and I seem to recall he dropped his support of legislation that would regulate insurance and the federal level…hmmm! Me thinks his settlement was quite generous? Is Scruggs an unconsionable ambulance chaser? Perhaps. Did the sisters violate the law by copying their employers documents, probably.
But what was in those docs and why are SF and Renfroe laying out big bucks and big presure to get them back? Perhaps they indicate some really serious, organized criminal activity? Lets see what they say. If there is nothing to it, we can all go home. But if there was a concerted, organized effort to falsify adjustments, then I think the RICO statutes should be applied.
Of course that last series of circumstances would put Scruggs squarely on the side of the righteous and good, now wouldn’t it? So sad, too bad…
If the documents show that the RICO statutes should apply then they should be applied. However, that still doesn’t excuse Scruggs’ actions. Disregarding a judge’s orders doesn’t make you righteous; it makes you criminally contempt. Hopefully he’ll spend the next couple of years defending himself.
These documents are not part of the State Farm RICO lawsuit, which “Dickie” filed after Judge Acker requested he be prosecuted for criminal contempt. They relate to the suit E.A. Renfroe filed against the “whistle blowing” sisters for breach of their employment contract, and I suspect are mostly claim files containing engineering reports. Some of these files have already been used in suits brought by the Scruggs Katrina Group.
I find it funny that no one considers the fact that 15,000 pages of claim files, containing very confidential personal information of many insureds was stolen and distributed to private attorneys. Is no one concerned about the violation of individuals’ privacy? Claim files contain social security numbers, phone numbers, adsressess, TIN’s, etc. If a credit card company laptop containing the same type of information was stolen, it would make the national news, and the company would get sued.
Several comments:
1) the documents probably show a pattern of changing the initial adjustments per SF request and thus would show the colusion of Renfroe. No one disputes that the sisters copied files.
2) the litigants who are possibly guilty of falsifying the adjustments (SF and Renfroe) have not raised the privacy of the insured’s issue because that is the least of their worries.
3) the judge, though he may be required to demand the return of the documents knows full well that they incriminate SF and Renfroe.
4) trying to make Scruggs the bad guy in all this is just diversionary. He’s in the middle of it, true, but the salient issue is the organized falsification of adjustments and the defrauding of the insureds to the tune of several billion dollars.
If you want to nail Scruggs for contempt, so be it. But who is really showing the most contempt for the law here? The people who want thier incriminating documents back, lets see how much time they serve. Not a day I bet.
Whistle blowers should be protected so that these abuses of the public trust are discouraged. Companies willing to engage in illegal activities like this should not be protected by the law, but punished by it. They should always live in fear that an honest and / or honorable employee will snitch them out and that these whistle blowers won’t be able to be persecuted by the entity that they have forced to into playing fair.
I like to think that in a similar circumstance I would have done the same thing, the only exception being that I would send a copy to the AG of the states involved and a copy to a major news organization to get it out there. The genie is still in the bottle at the moment, I would have let it all the way out.
Wistleblowers are protected but there are a lot of reasons you don’t want your business records in the public domain. I don’t know if they’ve done anything wrong or not but I don’t think as an employee you should take company documents and publicize them without reprecussions. You KNOW that they have not raised the issue of privacy or are you speculating?
Just to clarify some things I think people are unaware of:
Scruggs had previously advised the Rigsby’s to provide copies of the documents to AG Hood and to the FBI, which they did. The third set, which Scruggs had, is the set the judge ordered returned to the counsel for EA Renfro, not to EA Renfro themselves or to State Farm. The order stated EA Renfro counsel had to keep them under wraps. Remember, these are the same docs the FBI and AG Hood had. So, the argument that State Farm wanted them back to destroy or hide, doesn’t make sense when law enforcement already had copies and were conducting investigations.
So, one must ask why an experienced attorney like Scruggs would violate a court order by sending them to AG Hood instead of counsel for EA Renfroe.
My view is when you are working in as corrupt a state as LA then the businesses there are goint to be just as corrupt. Maybe if LA cleans up it act and its “justice system” then the businesses will too.
None of this issue involves Louisiana. The “sisters” were working in Mississippi, handling claims of Mississippi insureds when they took/stole the documents. The lawsuit against the “sisters” was filed by E.A. Renfroe in Alabama, and out of this lawsiut the contempt charges arose.
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
Subject: Strong People Protect Neighbors – Do We Also?
Posted On: August 26, 2007, 11:09 am CDT
Posted By: Roger Poe
Comment:
Whenever someone in drug cartel, mafioso, good-ol’-boy type enterprises, finally snaps out of the state-of-mind and conscience that was required for unquestionable loyal acceptance of wrongdoing against others, they would be applauded by many in a morally balanced society…and likely hated by their previous peers.
Sadly, protecting “our way of life” has greatly chipped away at what defines truly fair treatment of others.
Many insurers employees & associates are asked to turn their heads (ignore their conscience) to given instructions that they as seasoned professionals KNOW good and well is wrong to present to trusting clients.
From insincere agents who know their insurance associates illegal/immoral business practices, to insincere adjusters and engineers who intentionally present artificial “truth” regarding damage scope and loss claim values, to “laundering” the ill-gotten (unjust profit) gain via government bonds, etc. investment steams, that practice such shadowy and unscrupulous things against their fellowman, cannot avoid being found out.
The insurance industry segment that is obviously colluding together, to gain unjust profits together, and try to silence those that find them out, cannot and will not silence the part of humanity that NEEDS to speak out against them, even if it is supposedly “illegal” to reveal such so-called “confidential” behavior.
Good Samaritans, Whistleblowers, Tattle-Tales, Snitches..Whatever one’s want to call others that take a stand against their neighbors being harmed, or who attempt to stop injustice, are only “weak” and “wrong” in the minds and hearts of those who are TRULY weak in character, and integrity.
Stong people know, if sincere, that their exposure of corruption and injustice is worth the risk of personal attack, because truth, no matter what anyone says or feels against another, is always ready to present itself honestly, and objectively, without prejudice.
That is what insurers that cheat others fear–truth, conscience, and discovery, and their inability to control and silence those eternally (superior) forces of good.
“That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong”.
How about confidentiality? How about ID
theft? No doubt those stolen proprietary
documents include names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, maybe bank account numbers. Thats why they may go to the joint, and as State Farm operatives those boneheads are State Farm’s problem. Do you think those folks whose information was compromised will now sue State Farm for not protecting the said information? There was a way those birds could have brought their concerns to the light of day legitimately – instead they stupidly sought a payday.
maybe Scruggs and Scruggs will share a cell too.
Throw all three scumbags in the clinker.
the sisters should go to jail. And so should that crook Dickey Scruggs!
Anyone know how I can get ahold of E.A. Renfroe…I’ve got a few hurricane claims I need to adjust and I need someone trustworthy out there to do the job. I hear their personnel are top drawer.
It would appear that many people have a vested interest in those documents never seeing the light of day. While I am not now, nor will I ever be, a fan of lawyers, cases like this require them. How much litigation could have been avoided had SF been completely above boards with their adjusting and claims handling?
Who says they didn’t handle things correctly? You assume that because two sisters/alleged felons turned over documents to the Scruggs Group/alleged felons #2 that State Farm is guilty?
We’ve seen how things have been turning out in the swamps of MS & LA. Many of the accusations made against the insurance companies are not holding up in federal court. Was State Farm totally blameless? Of course not. Were the sisters totally correct in their actions? I think time will tell. As for the Scruggs Group, I hope they have fun defending themselves against the well-deserved criminal contempt charges.
Scruggs is generally recognized by most civilized people as a local piece of human garbage from the bayou who’s made his fortune on the edge of the law and fraud. They should throw his fat behind into the slammer and dis-bar him. Why society tolerates people of his ilk who make a mockery of the justice system makes me want to vomit.
I just wonder if Mr Trent Lott is behind this, a little bit. He had bone to pick with State Farm,, That whiner just so happens to be related the Scruggs bruggs!
You may recall that ole Trent settled up with State Farm…and I seem to recall he dropped his support of legislation that would regulate insurance and the federal level…hmmm! Me thinks his settlement was quite generous? Is Scruggs an unconsionable ambulance chaser? Perhaps. Did the sisters violate the law by copying their employers documents, probably.
But what was in those docs and why are SF and Renfroe laying out big bucks and big presure to get them back? Perhaps they indicate some really serious, organized criminal activity? Lets see what they say. If there is nothing to it, we can all go home. But if there was a concerted, organized effort to falsify adjustments, then I think the RICO statutes should be applied.
Of course that last series of circumstances would put Scruggs squarely on the side of the righteous and good, now wouldn’t it? So sad, too bad…
If the documents show that the RICO statutes should apply then they should be applied. However, that still doesn’t excuse Scruggs’ actions. Disregarding a judge’s orders doesn’t make you righteous; it makes you criminally contempt. Hopefully he’ll spend the next couple of years defending himself.
These documents are not part of the State Farm RICO lawsuit, which “Dickie” filed after Judge Acker requested he be prosecuted for criminal contempt. They relate to the suit E.A. Renfroe filed against the “whistle blowing” sisters for breach of their employment contract, and I suspect are mostly claim files containing engineering reports. Some of these files have already been used in suits brought by the Scruggs Katrina Group.
I find it funny that no one considers the fact that 15,000 pages of claim files, containing very confidential personal information of many insureds was stolen and distributed to private attorneys. Is no one concerned about the violation of individuals’ privacy? Claim files contain social security numbers, phone numbers, adsressess, TIN’s, etc. If a credit card company laptop containing the same type of information was stolen, it would make the national news, and the company would get sued.
Several comments:
1) the documents probably show a pattern of changing the initial adjustments per SF request and thus would show the colusion of Renfroe. No one disputes that the sisters copied files.
2) the litigants who are possibly guilty of falsifying the adjustments (SF and Renfroe) have not raised the privacy of the insured’s issue because that is the least of their worries.
3) the judge, though he may be required to demand the return of the documents knows full well that they incriminate SF and Renfroe.
4) trying to make Scruggs the bad guy in all this is just diversionary. He’s in the middle of it, true, but the salient issue is the organized falsification of adjustments and the defrauding of the insureds to the tune of several billion dollars.
If you want to nail Scruggs for contempt, so be it. But who is really showing the most contempt for the law here? The people who want thier incriminating documents back, lets see how much time they serve. Not a day I bet.
Whistle blowers should be protected so that these abuses of the public trust are discouraged. Companies willing to engage in illegal activities like this should not be protected by the law, but punished by it. They should always live in fear that an honest and / or honorable employee will snitch them out and that these whistle blowers won’t be able to be persecuted by the entity that they have forced to into playing fair.
I like to think that in a similar circumstance I would have done the same thing, the only exception being that I would send a copy to the AG of the states involved and a copy to a major news organization to get it out there. The genie is still in the bottle at the moment, I would have let it all the way out.
Wistleblowers are protected but there are a lot of reasons you don’t want your business records in the public domain. I don’t know if they’ve done anything wrong or not but I don’t think as an employee you should take company documents and publicize them without reprecussions. You KNOW that they have not raised the issue of privacy or are you speculating?
I have heard no such reason stated for the return of the docs. Have YOU?
Just to clarify some things I think people are unaware of:
Scruggs had previously advised the Rigsby’s to provide copies of the documents to AG Hood and to the FBI, which they did. The third set, which Scruggs had, is the set the judge ordered returned to the counsel for EA Renfro, not to EA Renfro themselves or to State Farm. The order stated EA Renfro counsel had to keep them under wraps. Remember, these are the same docs the FBI and AG Hood had. So, the argument that State Farm wanted them back to destroy or hide, doesn’t make sense when law enforcement already had copies and were conducting investigations.
So, one must ask why an experienced attorney like Scruggs would violate a court order by sending them to AG Hood instead of counsel for EA Renfroe.
The following link will help you understand that:
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developments-judge-acker-appoints-special-prosecutors-in-dickie-scruggs-criminal-contempt-matter.html
My view is when you are working in as corrupt a state as LA then the businesses there are goint to be just as corrupt. Maybe if LA cleans up it act and its “justice system” then the businesses will too.
FYI…
None of this issue involves Louisiana. The “sisters” were working in Mississippi, handling claims of Mississippi insureds when they took/stole the documents. The lawsuit against the “sisters” was filed by E.A. Renfroe in Alabama, and out of this lawsiut the contempt charges arose.
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
Subject: Strong People Protect Neighbors – Do We Also?
Posted On: August 26, 2007, 11:09 am CDT
Posted By: Roger Poe
Comment:
Whenever someone in drug cartel, mafioso, good-ol’-boy type enterprises, finally snaps out of the state-of-mind and conscience that was required for unquestionable loyal acceptance of wrongdoing against others, they would be applauded by many in a morally balanced society…and likely hated by their previous peers.
Sadly, protecting “our way of life” has greatly chipped away at what defines truly fair treatment of others.
Many insurers employees & associates are asked to turn their heads (ignore their conscience) to given instructions that they as seasoned professionals KNOW good and well is wrong to present to trusting clients.
From insincere agents who know their insurance associates illegal/immoral business practices, to insincere adjusters and engineers who intentionally present artificial “truth” regarding damage scope and loss claim values, to “laundering” the ill-gotten (unjust profit) gain via government bonds, etc. investment steams, that practice such shadowy and unscrupulous things against their fellowman, cannot avoid being found out.
The insurance industry segment that is obviously colluding together, to gain unjust profits together, and try to silence those that find them out, cannot and will not silence the part of humanity that NEEDS to speak out against them, even if it is supposedly “illegal” to reveal such so-called “confidential” behavior.
Good Samaritans, Whistleblowers, Tattle-Tales, Snitches..Whatever one’s want to call others that take a stand against their neighbors being harmed, or who attempt to stop injustice, are only “weak” and “wrong” in the minds and hearts of those who are TRULY weak in character, and integrity.
Stong people know, if sincere, that their exposure of corruption and injustice is worth the risk of personal attack, because truth, no matter what anyone says or feels against another, is always ready to present itself honestly, and objectively, without prejudice.
That is what insurers that cheat others fear–truth, conscience, and discovery, and their inability to control and silence those eternally (superior) forces of good.
rogerpoegc@gmail.com
“That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong”.
William J. H. Boetcker