RACKETEERING TRIAL AGAINST STATE FARM TO BEGIN SEPTEMBER 4

A class-action lawsuit against US property/casualty giant State Farm is set to open on September 4 on allegations that the company recruited a judge to run for an opening on the Illinois Supreme Court in 2004 to have him quash a $1.18bn judgement against the company in another lawsuit. The class-action suit, which was first filed in 2012 under federal racketeering statutes and includes nearly 5m plaintiffs, asserts that State Farm secretly attempted to buy the vote of Supreme Court Judge Lloyd Karmeier. The judgement that the insurer sought to squelch in Avery v State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co involved insurer approval of non-original equipment manufacturer auto parts in vehicle repairs. Plaintiffs asserted in that case they were harmed by State Farm’s insistence that cheaper non-OEM parts be used in repairs.