{"id":753367,"date":"2025-12-01T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/?p=753367"},"modified":"2025-12-01T11:53:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T17:53:37","slug":"it-made-me-feel-like-a-sucker-long-running-lawsuits-accuse-state-farm-of-billion-dollar-hail-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/01\/it-made-me-feel-like-a-sucker-long-running-lawsuits-accuse-state-farm-of-billion-dollar-hail-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt Made Me Feel Like a Sucker\u201d: Long-Running Lawsuits Accuse State Farm of Billion-Dollar Hail Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_JKV25sNV6LK?client=wp&amp;client_version=2.6.0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"80px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<p>On Oct. 4, 2023, a vicious hail storm battered the Broken Arrow home of Billy and Lacy Hursh. Billy Hursh, 39, a Tulsa police lieutenant and leader of the SWAT negotiator team, was able to spot gouges to the shingles of his steep-roofed four-bedroom house from the ground. But it wasn\u2019t until a worker got up close that the full extent of the damage was revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA tree-trimmer got up on the roof and said, \u2018You\u2019ve got a hole in your roof,\u2019\u201d Hursh recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two contractors confirmed that a roof replacement was required; one of them grimaced when he learned who had written the Hurshes\u2019 homeowners policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey were very confident,\u201d Hursh said. \u201cBut they said, \u2018Oh, State Farm is never going to pay out on this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hurshes\u2019 homeowners policy explicitly stated that accidental damage to their dwelling would be covered; nevertheless, an adjustor judged the roof to be in fair condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State Farm offered the Hurshes approximately $1,400.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They appealed to no avail. Eight months later the Hurshes\u2019 home was hit by hail again. This time, State Farm acknowledged damage, but continued to hold that the total cost was below their deductible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hurshes borrowed against the equity in their home to pay for a new roof: $22,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a first-time homeowner, Billy Hursh recalled a rollercoaster of emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a roof \u2014 it\u2019s not the most emotionally arresting thing in the world,\u201d Hursh said. \u201cBut it\u2019s your home. I\u2019m trying to do the right thing. I\u2019m trying to take care of my home, and this is why I had homeowners insurance. So you get hopeful, but then it\u2019s all a disappointment. It\u2019s frustrating and really discouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April, Hursh took legal action, becoming one of upwards of 200 cases of policyholders waging years-long \u2014 and ongoing \u2014 battles against State Farm. Thousands of pages of filings in the Hursh case and many others, in two waves of deceptively modest civil actions, revealed allegations of an insidious scheme worth billions of dollars, perpetrated by Oklahoma\u2019s largest writer of homeowners insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This Case Was Not About $1,400<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Nov. 7, in a lull in a sedate pretrial proceeding in the ongoing Hursh case, District Court Judge Amy Palumbo offered a wry response when argument whittled down to a discussion of the $1,400 State Farm had offered the Hurshes. The stakes of the case were actually much higher, an attorney observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOh, I knew that this case was not about $1,400 when I wound up with seven JDs in my courtroom arguing over the definition of the word \u2018document,\u2019\u201d Palumbo said, in her cavernous courtroom on the eighth floor of the Oklahoma County District Court building in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A short time earlier, Palumbo had observed that the Hursh case was the tip of an iceberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cY\u2019all appear to have many, many, many cases with State Farm,\u201d Palumbo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the main, Palumbo was addressing a tableful of attorneys from Oklahoma City law firm Whitten Burrage; the team included founding partners Reggie Whitten, who defended insurance companies for twenty years before becoming a plaintiff\u2019s attorney, and former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Mike Burrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2008, Whitten Burrage won the largest class action<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whittenburragelaw.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/the-common-mans-lawyer\/\"> jury verdict<\/a> in Oklahoma history, a $130 million award against Farmers Insurance Co.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arguments in the Nov. 7 proceeding and a detailed examination of petitions in numerous State Farm cases revealed what Whitten Burrage has alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2020, a mysterious meeting in a State Farm high-rise in Illinois cooked up a pernicious scheme, the petitions said. A Wind Hail Model Enhancement Team \u2014 a star chamber, one petition called it \u2014 was formed to oversee a practice of pre-denying claims of hail damage. Adjustors were trained to refuse total roof replacements, the petitions said, and State Farm colluded with the global consulting company Accenture and Haag Engineering, a firm that provides forensic damage assessment, to distort the definition of hail and disguise policy terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal was to reduce hail claim costs by 50%, the petitions said. The initiative was rolled out in June 2020 in Dallas County, Texas, the petitions said, and was quickly extended to three other hail states, including Oklahoma. Within six months, the program was expanded to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In open court on Nov. 7, Reggie Whitten and Mike Burrage put it simply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou got a scheme when you are going to reduce the claim before it even happens, and make billions,\u201d Burrage said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have people all over the state who don\u2019t know why they are being cheated,\u201d Whitten said. \u201cThey cheated hundreds of millions in Oklahoma between 2020 and 2023, and billions more in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attorney Lance Leffel of Oklahoma City was present to defend State Farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leffel did not deny the special State Farm meeting or the pilot program in Texas. Rather, he objected to how those events were characterized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe heard all these adjectives: cheating, fraud, and on and on,\u201d Leffel said. \u201cBut adjectives are not evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leffel described the meeting as a group of people gathering to decide whether to adopt a new feature on claims adjustment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo hear them argue, every time a board gets together to discuss their business is some big sinister meeting,\u201d Leffel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nov. 7 pretrial hearing was mainly about making documents available \u2014 internal communications, performance evaluations, training manuals, a document entitled The Art of the Conversation purportedly about how to talk to policyholders, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leffel argued that the cost for State Farm to review what would need to be shared was onerous: more than $5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was a drop in the bucket compared to what was at stake, Whitten Burrage lawyers responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cState Farm does NOT want the Oklahoma or national public to see these documents,\u201d one petition said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither Leffel nor the Whitten Burrage attorneys agreed to speak on the record for this story.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A State Farm media representative declined a request to interview the company\u2019s general counsel, Keesha-Lu Mitra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>State Farm Disclosed the Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two months before, a critical juncture arrived in an earlier set of State Farm cases brought by Whitten Burrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oklahoma Watch, not long after it published its <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/05\/15\/hail-no-hail-storms-do-not-explain-oklahomas-outrageous-homeowners-insurance-rates\/\">first story<\/a> on hail and insurance, was tipped off to what easily could have been mistaken for an unremarkable proceeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou should consider attending a hearing in Judge Palumbo\u2019s courtroom at 2:00 PM on August 20, Nida v. State Farm,\u201d an anonymous text read. \u201cIt is relevant to your reporting on homeowners insurance rates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The texter refused to identify themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the Hursh case, the hearing and the petitions in the Nida case sketched the outline of a prolonged legal battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State Farm\u2019s wind-hail initiative triggered lawsuits, the petitions revealed. Policyholders who suffered tens of thousands of dollars in roof damage found that State Farm either denied claims outright, the petitions said, or lowballed claim payments on the argument that damage was preexisting or normal wear and tear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a case that ran parallel to the Hursh case, State Farm offered $4,400 on a claim for damages to a Claremore home; an independent contractor estimated damages at $31,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The homeowners called lawyers; across Oklahoma, Whitten Burrage accumulated 125 cases of denied hail claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The battle lasted years. Whitten Burrage fought to compel State Farm to produce documents that would prove the alleged scheme. After a nearly year-long fight to appoint a special discovery master, Whitten Burrage won expanded access to documents and their ability to depose executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Very little would become public. Nevertheless, shortly after the documents were shared and depositions began, State Farm settled each case individually \u2014 all 125 cases. Terms of the settlements would not be disclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then something strange happened: State Farm itself disclosed the terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Court proceedings revealed that State Farm submitted some of the confidential settlement amounts to the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, or CLUE, a LexisNexis-powered report that makes the claim histories of policyholders available to third parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CLUE disclosures resulted in additional harms, Whitten Burrage attorneys argued. When insurers saw reports detailing roof damage settlements, their clients were either denied new coverage entirely or their premiums went, well, through the roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Was Really at Stake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ostensibly, the Aug. 20 hearing on a consolidation of nine of the total 125 cases was about motions State Farm had submitted to kill the effort to make their documents public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What was truly at stake \u2014\u00a0 in terms of raw dollars \u2014 was revealed in open court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Burrage cited a CLUE report that revealed that just one of the Whitten Burrage cases had settled for $3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The house in question was worth only $250,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow could there be a $3 million loss on such a home?\u201d Burrage asked. \u201cIs there some tax advantage to State Farm taking a loss? That\u2019s why we need the discovery. We need to know how widespread this is, and why it\u2019s being done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State Farm did not deny that settlement amounts had been wrongly revealed; Leffel argued that the disclosures had been accidental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That didn\u2019t matter, Whitten Burrage attorneys said. The damage was done, and there was no way to track who may have disseminated the disclosures after they had been made available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Aug. 20 hearing ended with Palumbo denying State Farm\u2019s motions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nida case is ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cDon\u2019t Tell Them You\u2019re a Good Neighbor\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A funny thing happened after the initial 125 State Farm cases settled: it continued to storm in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably not every one of the 125 cases settled for $3 million, but it\u2019s safe to say that State Farm paid a pretty penny to dispose of that first batch of cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That would be par for the course: in 2018, State Farm paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/world\/behind-250-million-state-farm-settlement-a-wild-tale-of-dark-money-in-judicial-idUSKCN1LL2ZP\/\">$250 million<\/a> to settle a racketeering class action lawsuit that alleged that State Farm installed a hand-picked justice on the Illinois Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whatever the hail case settlements added up to, it wasn\u2019t enough to make State Farm change its tune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nov. 7 hearing in the Hursh case was among dozens of additional State Farm cases brought by Whitten Burrage \u2014 as many as 60 more, Leffel said in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many, many, many cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hursh case also focused on documents. This time it was not a request to view documents in the hope that they would prove the alleged scheme \u2014 rather, it was a request to see documents Whitten Burrage had won access to in the original 125 cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In court, Burrage reiterated that what they were seeking now was what they had already seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c(State Farm) pre-determined that they were not going to pay \u2014 and they tracked what they saved. We saw the documents,\u201d Burrage said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State Farm argued that the documents were confidential and protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCheating your first party insureds is not a trade secret,\u201d Whitten shot back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whitten did not hide his indignation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just offended by State Farm,\u201d Whitten said. \u201cThey are saving billions of dollars, nationwide. Those documents need to be shown to the world. Look these folks in the face and tell them about it,\u201d he went on, referring to clients like Hursh. \u201cDon\u2019t just tell them you\u2019re a good neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cWe\u2019re Happy to Have Those Trials\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State Farm commands 30% of the Oklahoma homeowners market. Its nearest competitors enjoy half that or less and many companies languish at 2% or below. The discrepancy qualifies Oklahoma as a <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/11\/21\/potential-oligopoly-a-deep-dive-into-competition-in-homeowners-insurance\/\">borderline oligopoly<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Nov. 14, lawyers gathered once again in Judge Palumbo\u2019s courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leffel repeated his arguments on behalf of State Farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNot every business practice is a scheme,\u201d Leffel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whitten Burrage attorney Blake Sonne noted that<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.statefarm.com\/2024-state-farm-financial-results\/#:~:text=The%20net%20worth%20for%20State,of%20%246.3%20billion%20in%202023.\"> State Farm\u2019s net worth<\/a> had jumped from $134 billion in 2023 to $145 billion in 2024. Sonne said that his firm would be pleased to present cases to juries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re happy to have those trials,\u201d Sonne said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In delivering a ruling granting Whitten Burrage access to documents, Palumbo harkened back to the previous week\u2019s action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe all know we\u2019re not here on a couple thousand\u2013dollar contractual dispute,\u201d Palumbo said. \u201cI do think that [Whitten Burrage has] done a very good job demonstrating why they need these documents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it goes to trial, the Hurshes\u2019 case, one of many, will take months to resolve, if not more. But for Hursh himself, a final verdict has already been reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis might sound quaint,\u201d Hursh said. \u201cI was a State Farm customer from when I was 16 until we canceled last year. You\u2019d think being a loyal customer would matter. But it made me feel like a sucker. State Farm was never acting in good faith. I was foolish for expecting an insurance company to hold up their end of the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-747889\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:160px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?resize=140%2C140&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/JC-Hallman.png?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>JC Hallman covers a variety of topics for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at <a href=\"mailto:jchallman@oklahomawatch.org\">jchallman@oklahomawatch.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-small-font-size\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-56a9e311 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha is-grid columns-3 colgap-3 show-image image-aligntop ts-4 is-3 is-landscape \" style=\"\">\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"753367\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>MORE FROM JC HALLMAN<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"754167\" class=\"tag-amy-palumbo tag-attorney-general-mike-hunter tag-gentner-drummond tag-homeowners-insurance tag-insurance tag-oklahoma-insurance-commissioner-glen-mulready tag-oklahoma-news tag-state-farm category-business series-hail-no-why-homeowners-insurance-is-so-expensive type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/31\/judge-allows-attorney-general-to-intervene-in-state-farm-hail-lawsuit\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Judge Allows Attorney General to Intervene in State Farm Hail Lawsuit\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-preview-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/31\/judge-allows-attorney-general-to-intervene-in-state-farm-hail-lawsuit\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Judge Allows Attorney General to Intervene in State Farm Hail Lawsuit<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Emotions flared and patience was tested as Oklahoma County District Court Judge Amy Palumbo granted Attorney General Gentner Drummond\u2019s effort to intervene in a State Farm hail case that has raised ire in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/jchallman\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" alt=\"Avatar photo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cropped-Hallman.jpg?resize=48%2C48&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cropped-Hallman-96x96.jpg 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-48 photo\" height=\"48\" width=\"48\"><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/jchallman\/\">J.C. Hallman<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"754029\" class=\"tag-billy-hursh tag-elections tag-gentner-drummond tag-homeowners tag-insurance tag-oklahoma-insurance-commissioner-glen-mulready tag-oklahoma-news tag-racketeering tag-rep-mark-tedford tag-sen-aaron-reinhardt tag-sen-julia-kirt tag-state-farm tag-state-rep-andy-fugate category-politics category-uncategorized type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/26\/too-little-too-late-too-weak-critics-react-to-proposed-insurance-legislation\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Too Little, Too Late, Too Weak: Critics React to Proposed Insurance Legislation\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TED_3242-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/26\/too-little-too-late-too-weak-critics-react-to-proposed-insurance-legislation\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Too Little, Too Late, Too Weak: Critics React to Proposed Insurance Legislation<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Critics say new laws proposed by the insurance department ignore pervasive and sustained outrage over skyrocketing homeowners rates and would make it more difficult for policyholders to fight back.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/jchallman\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" alt=\"Avatar photo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cropped-Hallman.jpg?resize=48%2C48&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cropped-Hallman-96x96.jpg 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-48 photo\" height=\"48\" width=\"48\"><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/jchallman\/\">J.C. Hallman<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"753918\" class=\"tag-attorney-general tag-class-action-lawsuit tag-consumer-protection tag-corporate-accountability tag-corporate-misconduct tag-gentner-drummond tag-hail-damage tag-hurricane-katrina tag-insurance-claims tag-insurance-industry tag-insurance-litigation tag-legal-settlement tag-mckinsey-report tag-oklahoma tag-oklahoma-news tag-policyholder-rights tag-racketeering tag-rico tag-state-farm tag-wind-damage category-business series-hail-no-why-homeowners-insurance-is-so-expensive type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/18\/state-farm-dodged-billions-in-2018-settlement-now-faces-fresh-rico-charges-in-oklahoma\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"State Farm Dodged Billions in 2018 Settlement, Now Faces Fresh RICO Charges in Oklahoma\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/635238368079.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/18\/state-farm-dodged-billions-in-2018-settlement-now-faces-fresh-rico-charges-in-oklahoma\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">State Farm Dodged Billions in 2018 Settlement, Now Faces Fresh RICO Charges in Oklahoma<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Attorney General Gentner Drummond\u2019s petition charging State Farm with racketeering under Oklahoma\u2019s version of the RICO laws is not the first time that Oklahoma\u2019s largest writer of homeowners insurance has been accused of being a criminal enterprise. Last time, State Farm agreed to pay $250 million; will they settle once again?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/jchallman\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" alt=\"Avatar photo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cropped-Hallman.jpg?resize=48%2C48&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cropped-Hallman-96x96.jpg 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-48 photo\" height=\"48\" width=\"48\"><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/jchallman\/\">J.C. Hallman<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upwards of 200 policyholders waged years-long \u2014 and ongoing \u2014 battles against State Farm. Thousands of pages of filings revealed allegations of a scheme worth billions of dollars, perpetrated by Oklahoma\u2019s largest writer of homeowners insurance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2628589,"featured_media":753375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"everlit_article_id":"artl_JKV25sNV6LK","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":{"primary_voice":"65","guest_voice":"48","default_sonic_optimization":false,"default_conversation_mode":false,"default_read_alt_text":false,"default_read_urls":false,"default_read_author_byline":false,"default_publication":"pblc_lV8RK9ULW4x","language":"en-US","intro_mixable":3,"outro_mixable":3,"intro_duration":15,"outro_duration":15,"intro_padding":3,"outro_padding":4,"default_skip_article_image":false,"skip_auto_generation":false,"disable_music":false,"disclaimer":"","disclaimer_voice":"","is_for_subscriber":false,"embed_ui_cover_art":true,"embed_ui_title_intro":"","embed_ui_title_icon":""},"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"9a6fe1a590687250b4b226b4abcffcf2","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[183],"tags":[],"series":[],"coauthors":[20669],"class_list":["post-753367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cIt Made Me Feel Like a Sucker\u201d: Long-Running Lawsuits Accuse State Farm of Billion-Dollar Hail Scheme - Oklahoma Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/01\/it-made-me-feel-like-a-sucker-long-running-lawsuits-accuse-state-farm-of-billion-dollar-hail-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cIt Made Me Feel Like a Sucker\u201d: Long-Running Lawsuits Accuse State Farm of Billion-Dollar Hail Scheme - Oklahoma Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Upwards of 200 policyholders waged years-long \u2014 and ongoing \u2014 battles against State Farm. Thousands of pages of filings revealed allegations of a scheme worth billions of dollars, perpetrated by Oklahoma\u2019s largest writer of homeowners insurance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/01\/it-made-me-feel-like-a-sucker-long-running-lawsuits-accuse-state-farm-of-billion-dollar-hail-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oklahoma Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OklahomaWatch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-01T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-01T17:53:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BA-Insurance_5-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1658\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"J.C. 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