Judge Schedules Motions in State Farm Whistleblower Suit in MIssissippi

A federal whistleblower lawsuit filed against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. will not go to trial Dec. 1 as scheduled.

Instead, U.S. District Court Judge L.T. Senter Jr. has decided to hold a status conference on the case that day. He is expected to hear arguments on pretrial motions filed by the plaintiffs and defendants.

The Sun Herald reported that a motion by whistleblowers Cori and Kerri Rigsby, who contend State Farm and its engineering firms defrauded policyholders after Hurricane Katrina, asks that the scope of the case be expanded. State Farm is asking Senter to dismiss the case.

Federal prosecutors, who have declined to prosecute the case, have objected to a settlement agreement the Rigsbys reached with another defendant, Forensic Engineering & Analysis Corp.