A settlement conference slated to take place between State Farmand two sisters accusing the insurer of rigging engineering reportsafter Hurricane Katrina has been canceled.

“Based on a review of the confidential settlement documentsrecently submitted by the attorneys, the court is of the opinionthat conducting a settlement conference at this time would not beproductive and would not advance settlement prospects,” reads aJan. 23 notice in the docket for the case in U.S. District Courtfor the Southern District of Mississippi.

With the Jan. 30 settlement conference now kaput, it would seemas though State Farm and Cori and Kerri Rigsby—two formerindependent claims adjusters for a firm hired by State Farm afterthe 2005 hurricane—are headed for trial at the end of March—about seven years after the Rigsbysisters filed their whistleblower suit against State Farm

The Rigsbys filed a well-publicized False ClaimsAct lawsuit against State Farm in April 2006. The pair allegesState Farm doctored engineering reports after Katrina to inflateflood damage so the company could send losses to the NationalFlood Insurance Program (NFIP). Flood and storm surge losses arenot covered by a standard homeowners' insurance policy.

The years following the lawsuit filing are marked with nationalprint and broadcast news, public outrage, the demiseof once-prominent attorney Dickie Scruggs, a long list of involved attorneys, the death ofthe presiding judge, and countless pre-trial motions to dismiss thecase, limit its scope, and disqualify potential witnesses.

The notice canceling the settlement conference is about the1,000^th entry in the docket. Other recent entriesinclude numerous pretrial motions “in limine” to stop certain evidence from being usedduring the trial.

Also within the last month, Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden ruledState Farm cannot use a supplemental jury questionnaire to weed prospective jurors.