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Trent Lott Sues State Farm over Katrina Damage

December 16, 2005

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Like thousands of other homeowners, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) lost his home when Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. And like thousands of his constituents, Lott has not been able to get his insurer to pay for replacing his house.

So, like thousands of his constituents, Lott has sued his insurer, State Farm, which has stonewalled Lott and other South Mississippians who lost their homes on the grounds that their homeowners policies do not cover flood damage.

Home insurance typically does not cover floods but the homeless Mississippians contend that it was wind and wind-driven water that destroyed their homes. Wind damage is covered by homeowners policies.

Lott's suit adds powerful political muscle to the dispute. The state's attorney general, Jim Hood, sued five large insurers in September seeking to override the exclusions and there are numerous individual and class-action lawsuits pending in the courts.

State Farm and other insurers vehemently deny that they are liable for the damages and say that the lawsuits "threaten the foundation of the economy of the state" by trying to undercut legal contracts.

While Republicans in Congress are quick to bash plaintiffs' lawyers who file class-action suits on behalf of consumers, Lott had no trouble turning for legal help to his brother-in-law, Richard Scruggs, a famous and enormously successful plaintiffs' lawyer who has won huge judgments against tobacco and asbestos companies, among others.

Lott and Scruggs were neighbors along the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula and both lost their homes in the storm.

The suit alleges that State Farm wouldn't cover Mr. Lott's total loss because it was caused by a "storm surge" from the Gulf, rather than by wind. It argues that the policy is supposed to cover losses from "storm systems" and that damage from storms typically includes not only wind but also storm surges.

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