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Re: OT - Trent Lott suing State Farm
On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 20:34:05 GMT, "Art"
<begunaNOSPAMPLEASE@mindspring.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Have you tried suing any big company lately? Basically it is impossible
>because every boilerplate agreement has a binding arbitration clause in it
>that prevents you from going to court. Federal law prevents states from
>outlawing such clauses. So here is hoping that State Farm stuck a binding
>arbitration clause in Trent Lott's home owner's insurance policy. Then his
>case will be dismissed and he will have to pay State Farm lawyers for going
>to court to motion for a dismissal. Every Republican deserves to suffer
>from the anti consumer laws they have passed:[/color]
As usual you get your news from unreliable sources.
It is GREAT that Trent Lott is suing the f*ing homeowners insurance
company.
I hope he wins!
FYI here is the truth about the suit...
[url]http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/katrina_lott.html[/url]
December 16, 2005
Hurricane Katrina
Like thousands of other homeowners, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) lost his
home when Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. And like thousands of his
constituents, Lott has not been able to get his insurer to pay for
replacing his house.
So, like thousands of his constituents, Lott has sued his insurer,
State Farm, which has stonewalled Lott and other South Mississippians
who lost their homes on the grounds that their homeowners policies do
not cover flood damage.
Home insurance typically does not cover floods but the homeless
Mississippians contend that it was wind and wind-driven water that
destroyed their homes. Wind damage is covered by homeowners policies.
Lott's suit adds powerful political muscle to the dispute. The state's
attorney general, Jim Hood, sued five large insurers in September
seeking to override the exclusions and there are numerous individual
and class-action lawsuits pending in the courts.
"Today I have joined in a lawsuit against my longtime insurance
company because it will not honor my policy, nor those of thousands of
other South Mississippians, for coverage against wind damage due to
Hurricane Katrina," the former Senate major leader said in a
statement.
State Farm and other insurers vehemently deny that they are liable for
the damages and say that the lawsuits "threaten the foundation of the
economy of the state" by trying to undercut legal contracts.
While Republicans in Congress are quick to bash plaintiffs' lawyers
who file class-action suits on behalf of consumers, Lott had no
trouble turning for legal help to his brother-in-law, Richard Scruggs,
a famous and enormously successful plaintiffs' lawyer who has won huge
judgments against tobacco and asbestos companies, among others.
Lott and Scruggs were neighbors along the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula and
both lost their homes in the storm.
The suit alleges that State Farm wouldn't cover Mr. Lott's total loss
because it was caused by a "storm surge" from the Gulf, rather than by
wind. It argues that the policy is supposed to cover losses from
"storm systems" and that damage from storms typically includes not
only wind but also storm surges.
[color=blue]
>
>From CNN.....
>
>Senator now just an upset homeowner
>It's a battle of titans. Mississippi Republican Senator Trent Lott is suing
>State Farm insurance to get them to pay for his hurricane-damaged home.
>
>Hurricane Katrina leveled Lott's 154-year-old waterfront home in Pascagoula,
>Mississippi, last August. The insurance giant says the storm surge destroyed
>the home. Lott had federal flood insurance, but not enough to rebuild.
>
>The house was worth $750,000. Lott got on the Senate floor in December,
>pounded his fist and said homeowners along the Gulf Coast are fed up,
>warning that insurance companies better do the right thing or there will be
>"hell to pay..."
>
>One of Lott's more colorful neighbors, Pete Floyd, is still finding some of
>Lott's personal effects in debris strewn throughout the neighborhood,
>including a Christmas photo of Lott and a silver plate Lott's daughter
>received as a wedding present. Floyd paid about $300 a year for flood
>insurance and received $130,000 dollars from his insurance company.
>
>We chased after both parties for interviews, but Lott's office says he isn't
>talking about this "personal" issue. State Farm isn't talking either, saying
>it is a matter of "litigation." In court filings, State Farm says precedent
>is on their side.
>
>It's a familiar scene being played out in courtrooms across the Gulf Coast.
>
>[/color]
--
Scott in Florida
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