About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

6 SandBar 1 (2007-2008)

handle is hein.journals/sndbr6 and id is 1 raw text is: Legal Reporter for the National Sea Grant College Program State Farm Not Acting as a Good Neighbor? Woullard v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., No. 1:06cv1057 LTS-RHW (S.D. Miss. Jan. 26, 2007) Allyson L. Vaughn, 3L, University of Mississippi School of Law When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, it brought along a twenty- seven foot wall of water that crashed down on everything in its path, causing catastrophic damage along the Mississippi Gulf coast. Insurance companies, such as State Farm Fire and Casualty, maintained that their policies only covered wind damage, not damage result- ing from the storm surge. The exclusion resulted in a controversy among home owners and their insurers and left thousands of Mississippians with insurance policies that do not compensate for the losses they suffered. Background State Farm insures more than one in five homes in the United States and in 2005 recorded a net profit of $3.24 billion.' Because it controls such a substantial piece of the market, the media has focused its attention on the Good Neighbor brand during the wind-driven water controver- sy. From articles in national newspapers to debate on the floor of Congress, the water versus wind fight has resonated throughout the coun- try and centered itself on the policies written by State Farm. The claim denials have not only resulted in media attention, but also in hundreds of law- suits filed against the company. In Woullard v. State Farm, State Farm policyholders with insured property in Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock counties filed a motion in federal dis- trict court for class certification and for prelim- inary approval of a class action settlement. On January 26, 2007, United States District Judge L.T. Senter, Jr. denied the settlement agreement, which would have settled hundreds of lawsuits and reopened thousands of disputed claims resulting from the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina. In the order, Judge Senter held that without additional informa- tion the proposed settlement did not clearly establish a procedure that is fair, just, bal- anced or reasonable.2 Settlement Agreement The Woullard Settlement Agreement (settle- ment) contained two main components. In the Good Neighbor, page 4

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most