Suits Accuse State Farm of Fraud
An Agoura Hills couple whose home was condemned after a mudslide last winter has filed a lawsuit against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., alleging that the firm failed to make good on an “all-risk” policy and deliberately mislead them about the scope of its coverage.
Three more lawsuits filed this week on behalf of homeowners in Pacific Palisades and Malibu claim that State Farm changed its policies in 1983 without explanation to end its obligation to pay for damages caused by third parties.
The lawsuits, all filed by lawyer Richard D. Norton, allege that State Farm defrauded its customers and seek a court order to force the insurance giant to pay other California homeowners who have made similar claims.
A spokeswoman for State Farm, regional public affairs manager Mabel Yosifi, said company officials had not received copies of the lawsuits so they could not comment.
“This case involves one piece of what is probably the largest property insurance fraud scheme in the history of California,” Norton contends in the suit for Irene and William Ferber, filed this week in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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