This lawsuit followed a court move by State Farm on Tuesday, asking a judge to have attorney Richard Scruggs and the Scruggs Katrina Group thrown off a Hurricane Katrina claims case for ethical violations.
State Farm spokesperson Fraser Engerman said the new suit represents “Scruggs using one of the oldest tricks in the books--if you’re attacked, deflect." He also stated last summer, ‘If you don’t win it, you spin it.”’ Engerman said that Alabama U.S. District Court Judge William M. Acker Jr.’s request last week to have Mr. Scruggs charged with criminal contempt in a Hurricane Katrina-related case had surprised the attorney.
The defendants named in the Scruggs Katrina Group suit are: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Forensic Analysis & Engineering Corp., Robert Kochan (the owner of Forensic), E.A. Renfroe & Company Inc., and Renfroe owners Gene and Jana Renfroe.
The suit, filed on behalf of more than 100 plaintiffs, seeks compensatory and punitive damages, treble damages for racketeering, and attorney fees. It charges that the defendants engaged in breach of contract, conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.