[JURIST] Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti [official website] filed suit in state court Wednesday against the state's six largest insurance companies, including Allstate and State Farm, alleging the companies conspired to fix payouts for damages related to Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] in violation of the Louisiana Monopolization Act. According to Foti's statement, as reported by the Times-Picayune:

This alleged scheme gave insurers an unjust advantage over policyholders, which they used before, during and after one of the greatest disasters this country has ever suffered, by reaping huge profits from the misfortunes of persons whom they pledged to protect from the risk of loss. I believe this unjust advantage resulted in the unjust enrichment of themselves to the detriment of the state, policyholders and commerce in Louisiana. But to be clear, these abuses were not new to the recent hurricanes.