OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma County judge ordered 11 documents related to State Farm storm damage claims policies to be released imminently on Sept. 28.
Lawsuits brought by more than 900 Oklahomans accuse the insurance giant of underpaying or denying legitimate claims from weather damage.
The day began a week of key proceedings that will include closed-door depositions from State Farm executives.
On Sept. 28, lawyers held arguments inside Judge Amy Palumbo's courtroom on whether State Farm should be obligated to publicize 24 documents in its lawsuit brought by Broken Arrow resident Billy Hursh.
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Select documents in a different case released last month showed a 39% denial rate, pocketing the company an extra $1.4 billion, or an average of $15,000 each claim instead of paying out to victims of storm damage.
"In these documents, you can see them continuing to laugh about the money that they are cheating first party insurers," plaintiff attorney Hannah Whitten of Whitten & Burrage told local media after the hearing, describing what is in the documents Judge Palumbo ordered to be released. "These are people who owe the duty of good faith and fair dealing to Oklahomans across the state, who owe them a contractual promise. And in secret, you can see that these executives are laughing all the way to the bank."
Before attendees in the gallery were ordered outside for closed-door arguments on the confidential "hot docs", the plaintiff attorneys State Farm was "weaponizing upcoming depositions to advance bogus claims" that their executives knew about systematic claim denials.
State Farm lawyer Lance Leffel called that argument "absurd" and said the corporation's legal team simply follows normal procedure.
At one point, Judge Palumbo scolded one of State Farm's attorneys from a different case for standing up in the gallery to interject the parties discussing supposed confidential details.
"Essentially, State Farm has two systems of governance," Whitten said afterward. "For the people that represent hard-working Oklahomans, you can't use any of the State Farm executive testimony. You can't read from it. But when State Farm wants to read from that same testimony, they get to do whatever they want, and it's just not fair."
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Attorney in State Farm Oklahoma lawsuit on judge ordering release of corporate documents
By the afternoon, Judge Palumbo ruled to de-designate 11 of the 24 docs requested. The other 13 will be reviewed "under advisement".
State Farm issued a statement afterward:
"Today's court decision does not resolve the allegations in the lawsuit, which remain disputed. State Farm evaluates each claim based on the facts and coverage purchased and remains focused on helping people recover after a loss.
State Farm will continue addressing these matters through the legal process and is committed to providing affordable, comprehensive coverage to Oklahomans.
From 2024 through 2025, we have paid more than $1 billion to Oklahoma customers for wind and hail damage. We stand ready to explain our processes and provide full and accurate context for our decision-making.
The misleading narrative being advanced by billboard attorneys does not accurately reflect State Farm’s claims practices or the facts underlying individual claims."
"We look forward to getting a jury of the Hurshes' peers and proving that State Farm is involved in a scheme to hurt Oklahoma families and to hurt people nationwide - solely to add to their bottom line and buy more private jets," Whitten said.
The Hursh v. State Farm jury trial is scheduled to begin December 7. Another trial, West v. State Farm, is scheduled for November.
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