| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 8, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| LEGAL AFFAIRS
Clobbered in the Courtroom Over the past couple of years, State Farm has accumulated a lengthy list of legal woes CAR PARTS In October, an Illinois court awarded policyholders $1.2 billion after State Farm misrepresented the quality of generic car replacement parts. LIFE INSURANCE The company last year shelled out $200 million to settle a class action charging that agents misled customers. EARTHQUAKE After the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake, many customers accused State Farm of covertly cutting their coverage. In 1997, the company settled these claims for $100 million. PUNITIVE DAMAGE VERDICTS The insurer was hit with a string of blistering punitive judgments last year, including $25 million for document destruction, $9.5 million for fraudulently cutting a policyholder's medical bills, and $5 million for refusing to replace a customer's car that had been damaged in an accident. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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RELATED ITEMS State Farm: What's Happening to the Good Neighbor? TABLE: Clobbered in the Courtroom Father Knew Best--And So Did Grandfather ``I Have Never Seen a Case Disappear Like This'' INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
