Jackson Free Press

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is scheduled to testify Wednesday - a day after his re-election bid - at a hearing for a lawsuit that accuses him of violating an agreement to end a criminal investigation of State Farm Insurance Cos. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Parker refused Tuesday to postpone Hood's scheduled appearance at a federal courthouse in Jackson, or to limit the scope of his testimony in the case. [...]

State Farm sued Hood in September, claiming the attorney general violated the terms of a January settlement agreement when he reopened an investigation of the insurer's handling of policyholder claims after Hurricane Katrina. Parker unsealed the case last Friday.

Hood has filed his own lawsuit against State Farm, accusing the Bloomington, Ill.-based company of failing to honor the same agreement for a mass settlement of policyholder claims.

Hood has said his office was investigating allegations that insurance companies fraudulently denied claims after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm. A grand jury was hearing testimony when State Farm reached its deal with Hood and lawyers for policyholders in January.

Previous Comments

ID

96795

Comment

Does anyone think that Hood's involvement with suing insurance companies helped him get reelected?

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-11-07T17:52:13-06:00

ID

96796

Comment

I hope so! That is one of the reasons why I voted for him. Isn't that what he and his office should be doing? Protecting the residents of Mississippi from whomever or whatever has done us wrong? Insurance companies collect our money for our policies year after year and a lot of us never file a claim but we keep paying. If we don't you can get a ticket for driving w/out car insurance and if your house is damaged, blown away by wind or swept away by water we have nothing. Hell, don’t be caught without insurance and the little child next door trips on the garden hose (in your yard that you have asked then told her (and her parents) time and time again not to play in) and twist her ankle then the next thing you know her parents are suing you for the MEA visit…but I digress! The sad thing is big insurance let the victims of Katrina down and I am glad our Attorney General is fighting for those Mississippians that need the help. Does he have another motive? Maybe so...but (I think) a lot of us have done things to help others and we didn't do it just for the sake of being a good people! Or maybe it just me:-)

Author

Big Tee

Date

2007-11-08T10:03:36-06:00