State Farm hearing Thursday leads to a looming trial date in February 2027

and, according to Masters, Neil West asked for and received the same insurance plan he had during the 2019 incident.

Whitten argued that when he'd made the request, State Farm had adjusted its payouts due to a change in its policies. Following the June 2023 storm, the insurance agency denied a claim for roof damage to the Wests' home due to statements that there were pre-existing conditions that had already caused roof damage.

Masters argued that Holcomb, who has been operating her agency for 33 years, was under no obligation to inspect the property beforehand as the underwriter. She also argued that when the Wests made their claim, it was past the two-year deadline and, thus, the request by the plaintiffs was moot.

"She had no duty to disclose changes (in the policy)," she said.

Whitten, citing several sealed documents regarding changing of assessments by State Farm, said that Holcomb was aware of the changes and chose, through omission, to allow a lesser valuation of damages pay out to the Wests.

In the end, it was a case of who said what when, or, who chose not to say anything at all.

Whitten spoke of how State Farm chose to undergo a "scheme" where payouts for wind damage would be 50% to 58% less for winds under 50 mph and 80-85% less for hail. She claimed Holcomb had been privy to videos and PowerPoint presentations that elaborated on this "scheme" that would reduce payout via statements by State Farm agents all over the country who had seen the presentations and had questions regarding implementing the suggestions.

Holcomb has been deposed regarding these presentations, including documents that have been sealed by the court, regarding a revamping of payouts following a 2021 assessment modeled on a fire mitigation review that allowed for team management review of assessments. She noted that in an exchange with Neil West, when he requested the same coverage in 2021 that he had in 2019, Holcomb replied, "We've got you covered," Whitten said. However, the payout was not for a full roof replacement but for assessed damages minus pre-existing damage that was never recorded prior to the June 2023 storm.

At one point, Whitten began to speak about an exhibit regarding the assessment change and, following an objection by Masters, the press was asked to leave the courtroom while it was discussed.

In the end, it returned to Holcomb's deposition in which she agreed the documents she was asked about did identify changes in how things were done. Masters said that Holcomb was presented the information for the first time and her answers were regarding reading these documents for the first time but that didn't mean she'd read or known about them before.

Whitten said it was the obligation of the insurance agent to know the status of what is being insured before taking on the policy. She asked, "Well, which is it? Was the roof damaged for four years or was it damaged before?"

She said State Farm has undergone a scheme intentionally meant to be hidden from the public. She cited agent complaints from across the nation regarding how to implement language into the changes.

Masters said there was nothing that showed Holcomb knew of a "scheme" and that a judgment in State Farm's favor was merited. Wear and tear is a fact of life, she argued.

"Every roof has wear and tear, especially in Oklahoma," she said.

In August, Judge Sheperd ruled 31 of 44 "hot documents" that had been kept under seal due to a protective order in the case of the Wests against State Farm Fire and Casualty Company should be released.

The Wests' attorneys had requested them to be opened during an Aug. 13 hearing. Of more than 800,000 documents that were sealed, the 31 released include internal communications between State Farm officials. State Farm marked every page and line of the documents, including blank pages, as confidential, according to the plaintiffs.

State Farm's legal counsel, Timila Rother of Crowe Dunlevy, argued the documents were sealed to protect trade secrets.

They claim the documents support allegations that State Farm developed a nationwide effort, beginning in 2020, to reduce wind and hail claim payments after a prior revision of payout policy.

The procedure followed elements of the Fire Model Enhancement introduced between 2020 and 2022 and alleged to have carried over to property and automobiles between 2023-2024 that would impede payout for damages, according to Whitten Burrage.

The documents included discussions of savings targets, roof-replacement rates, and concerns raised by agents. Whitten Burrage attorneys say the records show State Farm deliberately reduced claim payments while publicly maintaining that claims continued to be evaluated individually.

There have been more than 1,000 legal cases that are active against State Farm in Oklahoma alone regarding disputed roof, wind, and hail claims, alongside multiple nationwide class actions, and state-level investigations over claims-handling practices.

Judge Sheperd said he would have a ruling by the end of next week. At this point, a pre-trial hearing is scheduled for January 2027. The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 1, 2027, and run through Feb. 12, Sheperd said.

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