One thing that’s for certain is that there’s never a dull moment with Judge Acker around. Take, for example, his June 27th opinion and order stating discovery in the above-entitled miscellaneous case is STAYED, except to the extent the parties agree.
What the miscellaneous case turns out to be is one transferred from Illinois and combined with Renfroe v Rigsby just long enough to work a little magic and see if the Rigsby sisters will disappear before anyone orders State Farm employees to testify about what really happened in claims handling after Katrina. Given this quote reported by WLOX in October 2006, the last sentence should have read a little more magic.
The company claims its employees risk incriminating themselves if they testify in civil cases before the criminal probes are completed.
“State Farm’s interest in having a fair opportunity to defend itself in this civil proceeding would also be jeopardized if the depositions of these four individuals are permitted to go forward,” the company’s attorneys wrote in court papers.
Watch this slight-of-hand and see if you catch the trick. Continue reading “Renfroe v Rigsby and the "magic jurisdiction" of the Miscellaneous Case”