State Farm Accused of Racketeering

In a lawsuit filed last week, a group of Mississippi homeowners accused State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. of a “pattern of racketeering” in the handling of claims related to Hurricane Katrina.  Attorneys for the homeowners claim that the insurer manipulated engineering reports in order to deny policyholder claims.  The use of the racketeering statute is a new tactic for attorneys pursuing Katrina-related claims against insurance companies. 

Source:  "Racketeering Alleged in Katrina Suit" by Michael Kunzelman, published in the Houston Chronicle.