Meet the Rigsby sisters but don’t forget your parte manners

Cori and Keri Rigsby are Under Pressure and it’s not a pretty story to tell. Anita Lee tells it well in today’s Sun Herald.

The Rigsbys have lost their careers and insurance company friends. Corporate attorneys have grilled them under oath, several times each, about their personal lives, tax returns and travel expenses.

Their former employer, the independent adjusting firm E.A. Renfroe, is suing them for money they say they do not have.

Cori Rigsby has been forced to put her house on the market. She can no longer afford it. Kerri Rigsby’s wedding is on hold because she does not want her fiancé saddled with potential legal judgments.

Still, they say, their greatest regret is that events have allowed Renfroe and State Farm to twist their motives…

The Rigsbys’ whistle-blower lawsuit is still pending against State Farm, but its future is uncertain. A judge has disqualified all attorneys associated with Scruggs from participating in cases against Renfroe and State Farm. The Rigsbys have been disqualified from testifying, or using any documents they took, in the cases. In issuing his order, U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. called their consulting jobs a “sham.”

The Rigsbys now find themselves on the defensive. Their mother, Pat Lobrano of Ocean Springs, has seen the stress they’ve been under during months of questioning from State Farm and Renfroe attorneys.

“I think they are trying to make an example of the girls so that no adjuster will ever, ever do this again,” Lobrano said. “I’m just horrified that I encouraged the girls to do the right thing and this is what happened. Justice does not prevail. I’ll never feel the same about our system.”

Lobrano and the Rigsbys don’t bear Scruggs any ill will and in fact recently drove to Oxford for a federal hearing in the bribery case. They spoke to him briefly, telling him they were sorry about his troubles. They still believe his guiding motivation in Katrina litigation was to help policyholders.

Anita Lee tells their personal story in the context of the larger story of their whistle blower claim. Having provided this snapshot to introduce the sisters, I’ll let Sop develop big picture.

3 thoughts on “Meet the Rigsby sisters but don’t forget your parte manners”

  1. Two things struck me in the piece Nowdy, one was the quote from their Mom, Ms Lobrano.

    “I think they are trying to make an example of the girls so that no adjuster will ever, ever do this again,” Lobrano said. “I’m just horrified that I encouraged the girls to do the right thing and this is what happened. Justice does not prevail. I’ll never feel the same about our system.”

    That is a common sentiment down here as State Farm appears to have a habit of acting out only to buy their way out:

    Courts in Oklahoma, Texas and Idaho have addressed the company’s behavior regarding the use of biased vendors to reduce claims payments.

    In Robinson v. State Farm, District Judge Duff McKee in 1998 upheld a jury’s punitive damages verdict of $9.5 million against the insurance company. The jury found State Farm used a bogus medical-utilization review to unreasonably delay payment of an injured policyholders’ claim.

    “I find that the evidence was clear and overwhelming that State Farm, beginning with its claims adjuster and running up through its management, participated in the egregious process of manufacturing fictitious reports and obtaining biased opinions under the guise of obtaining independent and objective medical reviews,” Judge Duff McKee concluded. “… The only conclusion to be drawn from this was that State Farm intended by these processes to reduce the amount of money it would have to pay on legitimate claims submitted by its insureds.”

    The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed his decision, 3-2. State Farm asked the court to reconsider after a justice who had voted with the majority was defeated for re-election. A new majority sided with State Farm, sending the case back to the lower court for a new trial. The case was then settled on confidential terms.

    Getting an unfriendly judge defeated appears to be a new practice. Anyone else remember Illinois?

    Oklahoma City policyholders’ attorney Jeff Marr explored State Farm’s Katrina claims-handling practices as part of his punitive damages case against State Farm. He wanted to show the company’s bad conduct had continued.

    “Let’s go back to the records,” Marr said in an interview. “The records are what they are. The way that State Farm utilized these engineering firms, that’s already been determined. It was proven here and again down there” on the Mississippi Coast.

    “It’s exactly the same and I’m sure it’s the same conduct we’ll see again. The rewards outweigh the risks.”

    State Farm points out the Haag report was only one of many sources the company used to determine Katrina’s impact. The insurance company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, maintaining the protocol was meant to guide claims employees after an unprecedented storm.

    The only punitive damages verdict against State Farm on the Coast – $1 million assessed in federal court – was overturned on appeal when the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found State Farm was not malicious or grossly negligent in adjusting the claim. The appellate court ordered another trial, but the case settled Friday on confidential terms.

    As a result of the Oklahoma case, State Farm ordered an independent investigation of Haag and suspended work with the company. No results have been released, but Supple said Haag remains suspended at State Farm. The engineering firm has defended what it says is a proud history of unbiased expert consulting work.

    The shame is the same bunch hot after Dickie Scruggs has no problem letting State Farm off the hook. Most telling IMHO.

    sop

  2. “no problem letting SF off the hook” and blaming in on Scruggs and/or the Rigsby’s”

    I want to see the evidence presented in some court regardless of what’s admissible or not. There needs to be a record – and something needs to be done about all these confidential settlements.

    I understand SF argues “trade secrets” – guess they cooked up a magic recipe – but people buying insurance need to be able to determine if they’re comfortable with the way the company settles claims.

    end of Monday morning rant!

  3. One thing I know is that without the Rigby’s sisters none of us on the Mississippi Gulf Coast would have know just what State Farm was doing. Their actions lead at least one homeowner to directly contact their State Farm engineer and their report ended up being used in Congress as an example of a so called “fake engineering report”. So what the Rigby’s did was not directed against State Farm but was FOR the people of the Gulf Coast. We know that and State Farm is merely trying to hide their own wrong doings.

    The harrassment of the Rigby’s sisters just indicates how seriously State Farm wants to NOT change its ways. A legally minded company would want to root out its bad employee’s and change its practices to prevent the abuse of its clients.

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