State Farm Halted by Policyholder Bankruptcy in Bid to Join Case

A bankruptcy court properly barred State Farm from intervening in a wrongful death case involving a convicted woman because she was in bankruptcy, the Eleventh Circuit said.

State Farm sought to seek relief from stay in Kristina Gaime’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy that was filed after she was convicted of murdering her son.

The relief from stay would have allowed the insurer to intervene in the wrongful death case brought against Gaime by her husband and the deceased son’s estate. The wrongful death suit resulted in a $505 million judgment against Gaime for the plaintiffs.

State Farm’s intervention in the wrongful ...