Company sues sisters who blew whistle on State Farm after Katrina

[Robbien]

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A company that contracts with State Farm Insurance has sued two former employees who are helping a prominent attorney build cases against the insurer for denying claims after Hurricane Katrina.

E-A Renfroe and Company, a Birmingham-based insurance adjusting firm, alleges in its lawsuit that Cori and Kerri Rigsby broke the law when they turned over reams of internal State Farm records to attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs.

The sisters were assigned by Renfroe to help adjust claims for State Farm. The sisters claim the documents show that State Farm manipulated engineers' reports on storm-damaged homes so that policyholders' claims could be denied.

The sisters resigned from Renfroe after telling a State Farm supervisor in June that they were cooperating with Scruggs. The Rigsbys also turned over copies of the documents to state and federal authorities.

Renfroe's lawsuit, filed earlier this month in a federal court in Alabama, accuses the sisters of violating the Alabama Trade Secrets Act and breaching confidentiality agreements with the company.

http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1159357443122120.xml&storylist=alabamanews

[wakeme2008]

1. The words pissing up a rope come to mind over what E-A Renfroe and Company

are doing :rofl:

[nebenaube]

2. actually, violating a confidentiality agreement

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but violating a confidentiality agreement is prosecuted as "treason" is it not? I'm not sure, just something I heard once.

[napi21]

5. I think a lot depends on what they signed when they were hired.

If I'm a WM employee, and I tell somebody that WM locks employees inside the store and makes them work off the clock, I can't be sured for anything! I'm SURE there's no confidentiality agreement that any std. employee has to sign, and those 2 sisters may just have been responding to atty. questions. I believe this would fall under the whistle blower laws as well.

[Tempest]

3. I hate to tell the company this, but...

The sisters are protected by whistleblower laws.

This will get thrown out.

[rmgarrette64]

9. Depends on what they turned over

If they turned over information that shows illegal actions on the part of State Farm, they are protected by the whistle blower laws. On the other hand, if the documents turn out not to show illegal activity, they are not protected, even if it winds up helping in the lawsuit (this assumes they actually had a confidentiality agreement, of course.)

I am highly doubtful that this will get thrown out - summary judgement is a huge bar in this country. That's not to say that State Farm will win, that will depend greatly on the facts of the case, much more than I can tell from the little information we have. But as is, we have more than enough to say this will either go to trial or settlement.

R. Garrett

[ddeclue]

14. Oh and how about jury nullification?

These sisters have nothing to worry about if this trial is in Mississippi considering the damage done by Katrina - I wouldn't be surprised if the jury came back with a judgement against State Farm... (not that that could happen but there's no chance in hell that these people are going to vote to punish these sisters.)

Doug D.

[SoCalDem]

4. Dickie Scruggs is Trent Lott's brother-in-law.

How funny... the Odd-bedfellows saga continues.. I guess ole Trentie is really pissed about losiing his little manison on the waterfront, and has turned Dickie loose :)


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dickie+scruggs+trent+lott&btnG=Google+Search

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

11. Actually Dickie lost his house as well

and was one of the folks that got screwed too. Not a bad guy to have on your side at a time like this.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Welcome to Bush's America

Where artificial persons have rights and real people don't count.

[cosmicdot]

7. help throw the tea overboard, sisters!

"...one if by land, two if by sea..."

I blew my whistle ...

Let those whistles blow!

[sarcasmo]

8. Kick and Nom. Crooked and Insurance go hand in hand.

[intheflow]

10. I can't tell you how many "State Farm Sucks" signs are still up on

people's lawns over this area a year after Katrina. Spray-painted on plywood or ruins of houses still on their lots. I hope these girls find justice for speaking the truth to power.

[pnorman]

12. "TRADE SECRETS"???

When fraud and/or other felonies may be involved??? :wtf: and :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

pnorman

[ddeclue]

13. Sorry but you can't use "trade secrets" or NDA's to obstruct justice.

I'm no attorney but it sounds like there is probably a case of wire or mail fraud that was committed by State Farm if they altered or manipulated reports to cheat their clients. (Q: Was anything in this case ever sent through the U.S. mail or sent electronically by fax or other means?)

It's my understanding that no contract (non-disclosure agreement for example) is enforceable if it is being used to obstruct the course of justice (i.e. to hide a criminal act.)

These reports can't really be considered "trade secrets" either - there is no intellectual property in them -it's not like someone stole the Colonel's secret recipe or the formula to Coca Cola or anything.

These sisters ought to countersue and/or find a state's attorney to file criminal charges against the company if they can.