Multimillion Dollar Punitive Award Reduced by Federal Judge in Katrina Lawsuit

By Jennifer Griffith

Published on February 02, 2007

Judge L.T. Senter, who has been presiding over most Katrina cases in Mississippi, reduced the award to $1 million.

On Jan. 11, Senter ordered State Farm to pay the Biloxi couple $223,292 for damages to their home, but left it up to the jury to decide if punitive damages were to be awarded.

On Wednesday, Senter agreed in his four-page ruling that punitive damages are warranted, but wrote that the reduced award is more appropriate given that it is about four times the amount of the damage to the home.

The Biloxi couple claimed a tornado during Katrina reduced their home to a slab. State Farm disagreed, claiming their home was damaged by a storm surge.

According to State Farm, their policy covers damage caused by wind—not water. The exclusion, the company claimed, includes damage caused by a combination of both wind and water, even if the wind created the storm surge.

State Farm intends to appeal the jury’s decision and the judge’s Jan. 11 ruling.

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