FIRM NEWS & PRESS RELEASES

Thursday, Apr. 22, 2010

Barrasso Usdin Defeats Class Certification of Overhead and Profit Claims in Hurricane Suit

Barrasso Usdin, working together with Rick Fenton of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, defeated class certification in a suit against Allstate Insurance Company before Judge Richard Haik in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The plaintiffs sought to certify a class of Louisiana policyholders based on claims for alleged underpayment of general contractor's overhead and profit on Katrina and Rita claims. A class certification hearing was held over several days in October 2008 where live testimony of the class representatives and experts was heard. Judge Haik struck several of the class allegations from the bench at the conclusion of the evidence and took the remaining issues under advisement. On April 6, 2010, Judge Haik ruled on the remaining claims and denied plaintiffs' motion to certify the class. The defense team included attorneys Judy Y. Barrasso and Susan M. Rogge and legal assistant Stacie Langlois.