Coastal Mississippi policyholders are well served by the daily and in depth reporting by Slabbed. Writing daily for this blog is time consuming; posting two to five in-depth discussions each day must border on a full time job. Lately, Slabbed’s posts have highlighted two important issues regarding insurance coverage and insurance coverage litigation in Mississippi. One, if insurance companies want to pay nothing under the all-risk policy because of the anti-concurrent causation clause, a new form policy is needed–even if the government has to sponsor it. Two, the insurance industry is winning the lawsuits in Southern Mississippi because they are winning the discovery battle over key information.

Below is an exchange between a Mississippi Justice and Nationwide’s lawyer during the Corban oral argument. Justice Pierce stretches a hypothetical position to show the illogic of Nationwide’s argument. I found it most recently at the end of Slabbbed’s post, Have we seen the end of rational economics? Behavioral Economics explains the Scheme:

“Justice Pierce:…. if 95 percent of the home was destroyed (by wind), and then we have the event of the storm surge, then you would not pay a dime?

MR. LANDAU: Your Honor, if we prove that the storm surge was sufficient to cause – we have that burden, again, and that is absolutely crystal clear.

If we can prove that the storm surge was sufficient to cause all of this, it is no answer then to say, ‘Yeah, but I’m going to show it — I’m going to have somebody come in and say, “Look, guess what, the window was broken before the storm surge came and then wiped away the whole house.

But you don’t get into those kinds of issues precisely because of the sequencing of the damage.

JUSTICE PIERCE: So you wouldn’t pay a dime?

MR. LANDAU: If – again, we wouldn’t pay a dime for things where we can carry our burden, which is right there in the policy, of showing that the loss was caused concurrently –

JUSTICE PIERCE: I’m giving you — the example is 95 percent of the home is destroyed, the flood comes in and gets the other five percent, and you know that.

Does your interpretation of the word “sequence” mean you pay zero?

MR. LANDAU: Yes, your Honor.”

If this is Nationwide’s position, they should make it clear to every policyholder. Then policyholders and potential customers would have fair warning that Nationwide is not on any policyholder’s side. Some may suggest that insurance policies need warning labels that there is no peace of mind because that position clearly contemplates illusory coverage. To be fair, I have found that Nationwide adjusters in the field do not adjust claims using this interpretation. Why Nationwide allows its attorneys to do so in court is beyond me. Slabbed is to be congratulated for publishing this absurd legal argument and for publicizing the problems resulting from Nationwide’s anti-concurrent causation clauses.

Slabbed highlighted Nationwide’s argument in Breaking: Gene Taylor sends letter to DHS Secretary Napolitano on Nationwide’s stunning admissions in Corban. Representative Gene Taylor has repeatedly tried to prove that insurance products available cannot adequately protect policyholders when a hurricane is accompanied by storm surge. Slabbed has reported in depth on Taylor’s efforts to pass legislation correcting this problem.

Discovery in Mississippi Katrina litigation has proven difficult. There is little downside for an insurer to refuse to turn over information and either objecting for a myriad of reasons or requesting a Protective Order which prevents policyholder attorneys from checking the veracity of the discovery the insurer did turn over. Early in litigation, State Farm would answer the same requests with different responses and far different documents. This did not last long. Now, State Farm objects to disclosure of internal information regarding the claims decisions impacting Mississippi claims. This evidence is crucial to reveal the true story of what, why and how the insurer created its wind/water protocol.

Slabbed reported on this recurrent issue recently in Keeping score #3 – Who has the balls?. The post quoted Mississppi attorney Judy Guice’s brief argument that a federal magistrate was not following longstanding discovery precedent. Her rhetoric shows that she has the guts to pointedly stand up to a federal judge:

“For no good reason expressed, State Farm unilaterally rewrote Plaintiff’s discovery and produced only limited documents relating to claims…This arbitrary restriction was approved by the Magistrate Judge. Given that such discovery is not only allowed within the broad parameters of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure but more specifically by the same Magistrate’s own orders in similar cases, the restriction in this case is clearly “contrary to law.

…

Plaintiff has sought discovery of documents relating to meetings conducted by State Farm concerning the handling of Hurricane Katrina claims. Acting in a manner contrary to law, the Magistrate Judge protected State Farm from this discovery. Indeed, State Farm has not even been required in this case to produce documents it has produced in other cases.”

I feel for Judy Guice because we have experienced the same frustration. Possibly, this type of pointed argument will be more successful. For a non-lawyer social media web site, Slabbed has done an excellent job portraying the emotional frustrations advocates and policyholders are living through in the Katrina litigation. I will reenergize my efforts in our remaining cases and become more active in coordinating efforts among policyholder attorneys along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to do my best to ensure that those lingering matters also achieve justice and consideration.

I simply do not have time to read Slabbed everyday. Yet, I have no hesitation in suggesting that many can learn a great deal from the posts. The ideas are exceedingly original. I am certain that those in the insurance industry dislike Slabbed because it does have a tendency to demonize the industry and those supporting their status quo. Imagine if all your best friends, neighbors, and family had to endure financial ruin caused by insurance not paying following a devastating catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina. I imagine your rhetoric towards insurers and their agents would not be very complimentory either.