Insurer wants lawyer barred from case; ethics violations alleged

The Clarion-Ledger, 6/20/7

A prominent lawyer for hundreds of Mississippi homeowners who sued their insurers after Hurricane Katrina should be barred from one of those cases because of “serious and repeated ethical violations,” State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. argued Tuesday in court papers.

State Farm is asking a federal judge in Gulfport to disqualify Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs and other members of his legal team from representing policyholders Thomas and Pamela McIntosh, who sued State Farm for denying their claim after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm.