Insurer Wins Katrina Case

A federal judge in Mississippi ruled in favor of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. on Tuesday in the first trial of hundreds of insurance lawsuits concerning damage by Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter in Gulfport ruled for the insurer in the case of Pascagoula, Miss., residents Paul and Julie Leonard.

Their lawyers had argued that their homeowner policy should pay them for about $150,000 in damage to their home, which was 515 feet from the Gulf of Mexico. The company said most of last year’s hurricane damage was caused by water and was thus excluded from their policy.

Senter’s decision after a nonjury trial last month may signal how similar lawsuits against other insurers, including State Farm and Allstate Corp., will be resolved.

Senter will preside in most of the other Katrina-related cases filed in federal court.

The Leonards’ lawyer, Richard Scruggs, has more than 1,000 clients pursuing lawsuits against insurers for refusing to pay Katrina claims.