State Farm’s “dickin’ around” to make a “Scruggs sideshow” out of the Rigsbys’ qui tam case reached a new low when the Company moved to declassify the deposition testimony of The Rendon Group (TRG) CEO John Rendon — but, as SLABBED reported, TRG hired Jackson attorney Frank Trapp to call the good neighbor’s “dickin’ around” hand (and, yes, I meant to imply State Farm’s Motion to Dismiss for alleged seal violations was self-stimulation).
That said, State Farm must have really gotten off when it filed a sealed rebuttal to the Rigsbys’ Response after Frank Who – a cousin of Olivia Manning and former all SEC linebacker – hit the Company with a Motion to Intervene opposing the good neighbor’s Motion to Declassify Rendon’s testimony.
The docket also provides proof of State Farm’s false claim about the Court’s earlier Order denying the Company’s motion to dismiss for alleged public disclosures in violation of the qui tam seal:
As the Rigsbys’ Response noted:
“In its August 10, 2009 Memorandum Opinion [343], this Court unequivocally denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss for alleged seal violations. Undeterred, and still intent on making this case about Dickie Scruggs, State Farm makes the surprising assertion that “[t]he Court did not decide this issue in its August 10, 2009 Order.”
Indeed, State Farm’s 91 motion, a Motion to Dismiss for lack of Jurisdiction, was based on alleged violations of the seal and Judge Senter clearly stated the basis for his Order denying the Company’s motion in his Memorandum Opinion:
“While these public disclosures undoubtedly involved the same basic allegations made in the Amended Complaint, it is the Realtors who made the public disclosures. Thus the public disclosures are based upon the Relators’ allegations and not the other way around.”
Trapp’s Opposition brief for TRG supports Judge Senter standing on his earlier decision and denying State Farm’s motion to declassify Rendon’s protected testimony:
” the testimony was properly designated by TRG as Protected Information because it constitutes TRG’s confidential and/or proprietary commercial and financial information…has no relationship whatever to potential seal violations…[and]…in many instances…[relates]…to matters that only occurred after the seal order was vacated on August 1, 2007.”
Shhh! Not another word while State Farm “dicks around” and the Company’s Rebuttal is sealed.
Oy vey !…to have much more mishegas…such the drek State Farm is