Plaintiff’s Sloth Results in Dismissal
Post 4977
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State Farm Fire & Casualty Company moved the USDC to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) because the Plaintiff failed to comply with the court’s Case Management Order (“CMO”).
In Hensley Roosevelt v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., No. 2:22-CV-05649, United States District Court, W.D. Louisiana, Lake Charles Division (January 10, 2025) the USDC resolved the dispute.
BACKGROUND
After the Plaintiff alleged damage to his home in Hurricane Laura on August 27, 2020, and Hurricane Delta, which impacted the same area on October 9, 2020, Plaintiff, represented by attorney Harry Cantrell, filed suit on October 10, 2022, alleging that his home was insured by State Farm and that State Farm failed to timely or adequately compensate him for covered losses.
Due to plaintiff’s noncompliance with the court’s CMO, the nonresponsiveness of plaintiff’s counsel, and correspondence indicating that plaintiff intended to enroll new counsel, the court ordered that plaintiff provide a status update and enroll new counsel by September 6, 2024, or risk dismissal for failure to prosecute.
New counsel filed a motion to enroll for plaintiff on September 6 but failed to provide a status update. State Farm filed a status report on September 12, detailing plaintiff’s failures to participate in mediations under the CMO. The following month, it moved to dismiss the suit due to plaintiff’s failure to comply with the court’s order.
Plaintiff failed to provide his disclosures to State Farm by filing them into the record on December 7, 2024 that were not only untimely but also woefully incomplete. Plaintiff failed to offer any information that would allow State Farm to compute his outstanding damages despite his previous representations that he was prepared to proceed.
State Farm’s records show that it has tendered $166,934 to plaintiff. State Farm then filed a second Motion to Dismiss arguing that the suit must be dismissed due to plaintiff’s inability to follow court orders or proceed under the CMO. Plaintiff has not responded to the motion under the court’s deadlines.
LAW & APPLICATION
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) authorizes a district court to dismiss an action for failure to prosecute, with or without notice to the parties, incident to its inherent powers.
Plaintiff repeatedly failed to engage with the court’s CMO by filing timely, complete, and accurate initial disclosures. The delays at this point amount to years.
Plaintiff made clear now that he is unable to provide State Farm with the information necessary to meaningfully proceed under the CMO or otherwise make good faith attempts at resolving the matter.
Plaintiff’s inability to gather basic information in support of his claims after months of warning shows that he most likely has nothing to back up his suit. Accordingly, the matter was dismissed as a sanction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
The case was dismissed.
ZALMA OPINION
Some people and their lawyers believe that if they sue an insurance company it will immediately give up and throw money at the plaintiff to go away in fear of a bad faith punitive award. This case establishes that the belief is wrong. State Farm refused to give up because it was sued and two lawyers retained by the Plaintiff failed to follow the rules and the case was dismissed. Sanctions greater than dismissal were appropriate but not imposed.
(c) 2025 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Posted on January 2, 2026 by Barry Zalma
ZIFL – Volume 30 Number 1
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
See the video at https://rumble.com/v73nifg-zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-january-2-2026.html and at https://youtu.be/vZC1e-_qwDg
Supreme Court of Louisiana Removes Judge
Judge Who Lied to Get Elected Cannot Serve
In In Re: Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts, No. 2025-O-01127, Supreme Court of Louisiana (December 11, 2025) the Louisiana Supreme Court in an opinion by Chief Justice Weimer dealt with the recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana (Commission) that Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts be removed from office for:
1. making false and misleading statements regarding her judicial campaigns;
2. making false and misleading statements to police investigating the reported burglary of her car; and
3. withholding information and providing false, incomplete, or misleading information during the investigation by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), as well as in the proceedings before the Commission....
Montana County Attorney Admits to Insurance Fraud & Is Only Suspended from Practice for 60 Days
Post 5251
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A Lawyer Who Commits Insurance Fraud and Pleas to a Lower Charge Only Suspended
In The Matter Of: Naomi R. Leisz, Attorney at Law, No. PR 25-0150, Supreme Court of Montana (December 23, 2025) the Montana Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) filed a formal disciplinary complaint with the Commission on Practice (Commission) against Montana attorney Naomi R. Leisz.
On September 25, 2025, Leisz tendered a conditional admission and affidavit of consent. Leisz acknowledged the material facts of the complaint were true and she had violated the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct as alleged by ODC.
ADMISSIONS
Leisz admitted that in April 2022, her minor son was involved in a car accident in which he hit a power pole. Leisz’s son ...
Montana County Attorney Admits to Insurance Fraud & Is Only Suspended from Practice for 60 Days
Post 5251
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gnBaCjmv, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gfpVsyAd and at https://lnkd.in/gC73Nd8z, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5250 posts.
A Lawyer Who Commits Insurance Fraud and Pleas to a Lower Charge Only Suspended
In The Matter Of: Naomi R. Leisz, Attorney at Law, No. PR 25-0150, Supreme Court of Montana (December 23, 2025) the Montana Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) filed a formal disciplinary complaint with the Commission on Practice (Commission) against Montana attorney Naomi R. Leisz.
On September 25, 2025, Leisz tendered a conditional admission and affidavit of consent. Leisz acknowledged the material facts of the complaint were true and she had violated the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct as alleged by ODC.
ADMISSIONS
Leisz admitted that in April 2022, her minor son was involved in a car accident in which he hit a power pole. Leisz’s son ...
Court Must Follow Judicial Precedent
Post 5252
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Insurance Policy Interpretation Requires Application of the Judicial Construction Doctrine
In Montrose Chemical Corporation Of California v. The Superior Court Of Los Angeles County, Canadian Universal Insurance Company, Inc., et al., B335073, Court of Appeal, 337 Cal.Rptr.3d 222 (9/30/2025) the Court of Appeal refused to allow extrinsic evidence to interpret the word “sudden” in qualified pollution exclusions (QPEs) as including gradual but unexpected pollution. The court held that, under controlling California appellate precedent, the term “sudden” in these standard-form exclusions unambiguously includes a temporal element (abruptness) and cannot reasonably be construed to mean ...
Lack of Jurisdiction Defeats Suit for Defamation
Post 5250
Posted on December 29, 2025 by Barry Zalma
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He Who Represents Himself in a Lawsuit has a Fool for a Client
In Pankaj Merchia v. United Healthcare Services, Inc., Civil Action No. 24-2700 (RC), United States District Court, District of Columbia (December 22, 2025)
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Parties & Claims:
The plaintiff, Pankaj Merchia, is a physician, scientist, engineer, and entrepreneur, proceeding pro se. Merchia sued United Healthcare Services, Inc., a Minnesota-based medical insurance company, for defamation and related claims. The core allegation is that United Healthcare falsely accused Merchia of healthcare fraud, which led to his indictment and arrest in Massachusetts, causing reputational and business harm in the District of Columbia and nationwide.
Underlying Events:
The alleged defamation occurred when United ...
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter
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ZIFL Volume 29, Issue 24
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Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 29th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter
Merry Christmas & Happy Hannukah
Read the following Articles from the December 15, 2025 issue:
Read the full 19 page issue of ZIFL at ...
