DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — State Farm Fire & Casualty Company has suffered a major courtroom setback in Alabama after a federal judge sent a lawsuit involving more than 50 homeowners back to Houston County Circuit Court while issuing a pointed warning to the insurance company.
Dothan attorneys Dustin Fowler, Steve Etheredge, Niki Pierce, Gantt Pierce and Jason Kingry are taking on State Farm on behalf of Alabama homeowners whose wind and hail claims were allegedly denied or underpaid.
According to information provided to WDNews by Fowler, U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks rejected State Farm’s attempt to keep the case in federal court in an Aug. 17 order, ruling that the homeowners had sufficiently alleged claims against Alabama insurance agents.
But the ruling went further.
Marks took aim at State Farm’s decision to pursue removal, noting the insurer had already tried and failed with a substantially similar argument in another Alabama case under similar circumstances.
Her conclusion was direct: Based on the record before the court, State Farm had “no objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal.”
Marks then issued another warning to the insurer.
“The Court cautions State Farm that this practice of risky removal, if continuing, is undertaken at its own peril.”
The court also quoted an earlier Alabama federal decision comparing removal to a calculated gamble and warning that there is no place for simply betting on which judge a case will be assigned to.
The Aug. 17 order granted the homeowners’ request for remand, returning the case to the Circuit Court of Houston County.
“State Farm accepted premiums from hardworking Houston County residents, and it should be held accountable right here in Houston County,” Fowler, of Buntin, Etheredge & Fowler, LLC, said.
For the homeowners, the underlying fight with State Farm is not over. The federal ruling determines where the lawsuit will proceed and sends the case back to Houston County Circuit Court.
The litigation follows an earlier lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 90 area homeowners who alleged State Farm improperly denied claims for hail-damaged roofs and, in some cases, related interior damage.
According to information provided by Fowler, the plaintiffs included longtime State Farm policyholders who said they had paid premiums to the insurance company for decades before their claims were denied.
“These are real families who are trying to keep a roof over their heads after a devastating storm. They’ve spent years faithfully paying their premiums, trusting that when the worst happened, their insurance company would be there to help them put their homes and their lives back together,” Fowler said.
The Alabama litigation comes as State Farm has faced scrutiny elsewhere in the country over its handling of catastrophic property claims.
In March, President Donald Trump publicly singled out State Farm while discussing complaints from victims of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Trump called the insurer “absolutely horrible” and said the federal government was looking into how insurance companies had treated policyholders following the disaster.
The latest Alabama ruling does not decide the merits of the homeowners’ claims against State Farm. However, it means the lawsuit involving more than 50 homeowners will move forward in Houston County Circuit Court.
For State Farm, the federal judge’s warning was clear:
“The Court cautions State Farm that this practice of risky removal, if continuing, is undertaken at its own peril.”
