Ellington

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced today that he had filed a complaint against State Farm Fire and Casualty Company for refusing to cover damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

''We filed this lawsuit in an effort to help the more than 30,000 Gulf Coast policyholders who have suffered for nearly two years because of State Farm's inaction,'' Hood said in a statement.

Hood dropped State Farm from his suit against insurance companies last January, after the company came to a settlement with policyholders. That settlement fell apart when it was rejected by U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. Since then, State Farm has worked with Insurance Commissioner George Dale on another settlement, but Hood said that process is moving too slow.

More details soon.