DOJ Information Assertion of Curiosity in California Hearth Insurance coverage Case

The Division of Justice filed a Assertion of Curiosity in a lawsuit filed in opposition to State Farm by owners who misplaced their properties within the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

The case, Ferrier v. State Farm Hearth and Casualty Firm, is pending within the Superior Courtroom of Los Angeles County. It was introduced by 60 owners who misplaced their properties within the wildfires. They allege that the defendants, which embody 16 owners insurance coverage firms, conspired to cancel their hearth insurance coverage insurance policies within the years main as much as the fires. The owners say they have been pressured to acquire insurance coverage from the California FAIR Plan, which presents much less protection, leading to increased out-of-pocket bills for rebuilding.

Associated: California Taking Motion Towards State Farm Over LA Wildfire Claims

The case was introduced beneath California state antitrust legislation, however the carriers have argued that the claims must be dismissed on the premise of the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, an exemption from antitrust legal responsibility beneath federal and California antitrust legal guidelines that protects petitioning and advocacy directed at authorities companies. The DOJ’s Assertion of Curiosity argues that the doctrine shouldn’t apply to the insurers’ alleged group boycott of the home-owner policyholders as a result of it was separate and distinct and prompted separate and distinct harms from any authorities petitioning exercise by the insurers.

Associated: Vacationers to Increase Householders Insurance coverage Providing in California

The Assertion of Curiosity additionally asserts that the McCarran-Ferguson Act, which limits sure federal antitrust claims relating to insurance coverage conduct topic to state oversight, doesn’t essentially bar group boycott claims of the kind alleged by owners within the case.

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California
Wildfire