State Farm Trial Scheduled on Claims by Mississippi Coast Resident

State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. was scheduled to be back in federal court in Gulfport, Miss., on Monday in a lawsuit filed by a Pass Christian homeowner over damages from Hurricane Katrina.

The lawsuit was filed by Michael McCoy of Pass Christian, who is seeking full payment of his claim, $189,402, plus $5 million in punitive damages.

State Farm says flood, which the company doesn’t cover, reduced the house to a slab. The company recently sent McCoy $8,354 for “speculative wind damage.” That should replace his roof shingles, State Farm says, less the deductible, according to court records.

Two previous cases against State Farm have already been heard.

The first trial resulted in policy limits for plaintiffs Norman and Genevieve Broussard, plus $1 million in punitive damages. State Farm had denied the Broussards’ claim in total before the trial. At trial, the company admitted there could have been some wind damage.

Punitive damages in the second case were settled for an undisclosed amount after the jury awarded Biloxi City Councilman Ed Gemmill $66,234 for wind damage.

Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com