Two Hurricane Rita Class Actions

ORANGE, Texas (CN) - Two class actions accuse companies of unfairly denying hurricane claims. State Farm Lloyds is accused of setting up policies in bad faith to deny business-interruption claims for Texas businesses hurt by Hurricane Rita. Another class demands a deposition from the Partnership for Response and Recovery - a joint venture of Dewberry & Davis LLC and URS Corp. - which has a FEMA contract to inspect homes of hurricane victims who seek FEMA assistance.

In the second case, the class says it intends to sue the Partnership for Response and Recovery (PaRR). It claims FEMA awarded only a "nominal amount" to Rita victims, after inspection by PaRR. These plaintiffs are represented by Shimon Kaplan and Mark Grandich with Lone Star Legal Aid of Houston.

Lead counsel in the State Farm Lloyds case is Richard Coffman of Beaumont.