State Farm California FAIR Plan Collusion Lawsuits, Judge Refuses to Dismiss, What Affected Homeowners Need to Know

A Los Angeles judge has denied a petition by State Farm and other insurers to dismiss two lawsuits accusing them of colluding to drive California homeowners onto the state’s FAIR Plan, with Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Samantha Jessner largely upholding the lawsuits in a decision handed down on May 14, 2026. The antitrust case now moves forward against more than a dozen major insurers. No settlement exists, and no claim form is open.

Quick Facts: State Farm FAIR Plan Antitrust Lawsuits

Field	Detail
Lawsuits Filed	April 18, 2025
Key Ruling	Motions to dismiss denied — May 14, 2026
Case 1 (Individual)	Ferrier et al. v. State Farm Group et al. — Los Angeles County Superior Court
Case 2 (Class Action)	Canzoneri v. State Farm Group et al. — Los Angeles County Superior Court
Presiding Judge	Judge Samantha Jessner, Los Angeles County Superior Court
Lead Defendants	State Farm General Insurance Company and 15+ other major California insurers, including Farmers, Mercury, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual
Alleged Violations	California Cartwright Act (antitrust); California Unfair Competition Law
Who Is Affected	California homeowners pushed onto the FAIR Plan who lost coverage or suffered losses in the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires
DOJ Involvement	U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division filed a Statement of Interest on May 4, 2026, opposing dismissal
Current Stage	Active litigation — motions to dismiss denied; case proceeds on antitrust claims
Settlement Status	None — no settlement, no claim form
Lead Law Firms	Larson LLP; Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP
Last Updated	May 17, 2026

What the State Farm FAIR Plan Collusion Cases Are About

If you owned a home in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, or other high-risk fire areas of Los Angeles County, you may have had your homeowners insurance canceled or not renewed in 2023 or 2024 — and then watched your neighborhood burn to the ground in January 2025 with far less coverage than you used to have. These lawsuits say that was not a coincidence.

Larson LLP and Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP filed two complaints in Los Angeles County on April 18, 2025, against major California insurance carriers on behalf of property owners impacted by the wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena areas, alleging violations of California’s antitrust and unfair competition laws through a conspiracy which eliminated existing and standard property policies and forced homeowners to accept, as their only available coverage, the state’s insurance plan of last resort — the California FAIR Plan.

The core allegation is that State Farm, Farmers, and their co-defendants — companies that together control roughly 75% of California’s home insurance market — did not independently decide to exit fire-risk areas. The lawsuits say they coordinated. Beginning in early 2023, these insurers allegedly collectively withdrew from offering competitive fire insurance policies in targeted areas such as Malibu, the Palisades, and Altadena — forcing homeowners into the FAIR Plan, which provides limited coverage at significantly higher premiums.

The FAIR Plan — California’s insurer of last resort — is financially backed by those same private insurers, who control its governing board. The second lawsuit alleges “the net result of this scheme was that these homeowners were each unjustly forced to pay thousands of extra dollars for deficient policies, while defendants collectively reaped a windfall worth billions of dollars.” After the January 2025 fires struck, the gap between what the FAIR Plan covered and what those homes were worth left policyholders massively underinsured at the worst possible moment. For a broader look at how State Farm’s legal exposure across the country has developed, see AllAboutLawyer.com’s complete State Farm Lawsuits Guide.

What Judge Jessner’s Ruling Means

Judge Jessner struck two less significant claims from the lawsuits but allowed the case to proceed against more than a dozen major California insurers on the core antitrust allegations. This is a major procedural win for the homeowners — a dismissal at this stage would have ended both lawsuits without any trial.

The insurers had argued they were protected from antitrust liability under a legal doctrine related to their status as state-regulated entities — an argument that applied both California law and federal precedent to claim immunity from antitrust suits. On May 4, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division filed a Statement of Interest in the case, rejecting the insurance carriers’ claim that the case should be dismissed and arguing that the exceptions to antitrust law cited by the insurers do not apply to the alleged actions.

Related article: Justice Department Sues D.C. Bar to Block Sanctions Against Trump Administration Lawyers

Attorney Bob Ruyak, representing the homeowners, called the ruling very good news, saying plaintiffs would now be able to proceed with antitrust claims in both cases. State Farm pushed back. State Farm spokesperson Sevag Sarkissian said the ruling did not address the accuracy of the allegations and that the company looks forward to presenting its case in court.

The ruling means discovery — the formal evidence-gathering phase — can now begin. That is when homeowners’ attorneys can demand internal communications, data, and records from State Farm and the other defendant insurers to try to prove the coordination they allege. For California homeowners burned by this situation, this is the stage where the evidence that will determine their compensation either surfaces or does not. To understand how long these cases typically take once they survive dismissal, see AllAboutLawyer.com’s Guide to Consumer Class Action Lawsuits.

The Two Lawsuits: Who Is in Each Case

These are two separate but related cases proceeding together. Understanding which one applies to you matters.

Case 1: Ferrier et al. v. State Farm Group et al. — This is the individual case. Led by Todd and Kimberley Ferrier, whose Pacific Palisades home burned down, this lawsuit seeks to compensate 60 homeowners who experienced fire losses exacerbated by the FAIR Plan’s limited coverage. These are people who already lost their homes in the January 2025 wildfires and are seeking to recover the gap between what the FAIR Plan paid and what standard insurance would have covered.

Case 2: Canzoneri v. State Farm Group et al. — This is the proposed class action. This case is a proposed class action that would compensate policyholders for the higher premiums they paid to the FAIR Plan. This class is broader — it covers California homeowners who were pushed onto the FAIR Plan and overpaid for inferior coverage, even if their homes were not destroyed in January 2025. If you live in a high-risk California fire area, had your private homeowners policy canceled or not renewed starting around 2023, and had to get FAIR Plan coverage, you may be part of this proposed class.

Are You Part of the State Farm FAIR Plan Class Action?

You may be part of the Canzoneri class action if:

• You owned a home in a California fire-risk area — including but not limited to Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, or other Los Angeles County high-risk zones
• Your homeowners insurance policy was canceled or not renewed by a major California insurer beginning around 2023
• You were forced to obtain coverage through the California FAIR Plan as a result
• You paid FAIR Plan premiums that were higher than your previous private insurance
• You suffered fire-related losses in January 2025 that the FAIR Plan did not fully cover

You may be part of the Ferrier individual lawsuit if:

• You lost your home or property in the January 2025 Palisades or Eaton fires
• You had been dropped from private insurance and were on the FAIR Plan at the time of the fires
• Your uncovered losses — the gap between FAIR Plan limits and your actual damages — amount to a substantial sum

You are likely NOT included if:

• You maintained private homeowners insurance through a non-defendant company at the time of the fires and were not pushed onto the FAIR Plan
• You live outside California or your property was not in a fire-risk area affected by the alleged withdrawal of coverage

The Broader Legal and Regulatory Fight Against State Farm in California

The collusion lawsuit does not stand alone. State Farm is fighting legal battles on multiple fronts in California right now.

The California Department of Insurance filed an enforcement action against State Farm General Insurance Company after an expedited investigation uncovered significant mishandling of wildfire insurance claims — documenting a pattern of unlawful behavior in more than half of the claims reviewed. The action seeks millions of dollars in penalties, described as the largest amount pursued this century following a wildfire disaster.

The violations identified include delayed payments, inadequate communication, failure to respond to policyholders, and failure to send required status letters. This is a separate regulatory action from the antitrust lawsuits — but together they paint a picture of an insurer under intense scrutiny from both courts and regulators.

Separately, the California Department of Insurance, Consumer Watchdog, and State Farm General reached a three-party settlement agreement over State Farm’s emergency rate request, providing financial relief to many policyholders while ensuring continued coverage as California’s insurance market stabilizes. That rate settlement is a regulatory matter and does not resolve the antitrust collusion claims.

What California Homeowners Should Do Right Now

No claim form is open. The Canzoneri case has not yet been certified as a class action — that comes later. But there are concrete steps worth taking now.

Document your insurance history. Pull every cancellation notice, non-renewal letter, and FAIR Plan enrollment document you received between 2022 and 2025. The date you were dropped from private insurance, the reason given, and the name of the insurer who dropped you are all potentially relevant facts in this litigation.

Save your FAIR Plan policy and any fire loss records. If you were on the FAIR Plan during the January 2025 fires and suffered losses, preserve your policy documents, the FAIR Plan’s claim determination, and any records showing the gap between what was paid and what the repairs or replacement actually cost.

File a complaint with the California Department of Insurance. If State Farm or another major insurer mishandled your wildfire claim, file at insurance.ca.gov or call (800) 927-4357. Regulatory complaints create an independent record and can support future legal claims.

Contact the law firms directly. Larson LLP can be reached at 213-205-2950 or through larsonllp.com. Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP handles these cases jointly. Most wildfire insurance attorneys work on contingency — no cost to you unless they recover money.

Do not settle individually without legal advice. If your insurer has offered you a settlement on your wildfire claim and you are considering accepting it, speak with a consumer rights lawyer first. Accepting an individual settlement may affect your ability to participate in the class action.

State Farm FAIR Plan Lawsuit Timeline

Milestone	Date
January 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires Devastate Los Angeles	January 2025
Ferrier and Canzoneri Lawsuits Filed in LA County Superior Court	April 18, 2025
Insurers File Motions to Dismiss Both Cases	2025
DOJ Antitrust Division Files Statement of Interest Opposing Dismissal	May 4, 2026
California Dept. of Insurance Files Enforcement Action Against State Farm	~May 4, 2026
Judge Jessner Denies Motions to Dismiss — Case Proceeds	May 14, 2026
Discovery Phase Begins	TBD — expected to commence shortly
Class Certification Hearing (Canzoneri)	TBD — not yet scheduled
Trial / Resolution Timeline	TBD — major antitrust cases typically take 3–5 years

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a class action lawsuit against State Farm over the California FAIR Plan?

 Yes. Canzoneri v. State Farm Group et al., pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is a proposed class action seeking to compensate California policyholders who paid higher premiums to the FAIR Plan after being pushed off private insurance by the alleged insurer collusion. It has survived a motion to dismiss and is now in active litigation.

Do I need to do anything now to be part of the Canzoneri class action?

Not yet. Class certification has not been granted. Once certified, formal notice will go out to class members — by mail, email, or through a settlement website. Save your insurance records now so you can act quickly when that time comes.

What is the California FAIR Plan and why does it matter here? 

The FAIR Plan is California’s insurer of last resort — designed for homeowners who cannot get private coverage due to wildfire risk. Since 2020, the number of FAIR Plan policyholders has significantly increased from around 200,000 to about 560,000 in March 2025. Its policies cover far less than standard homeowners insurance but cost more. The lawsuits allege insurers deliberately funneled homeowners there to profit while leaving them exposed.

When will a settlement be reached? 

No settlement timeline exists. These cases were just cleared to proceed after surviving dismissal. Major antitrust cases of this type — especially those involving multiple corporate defendants and a proposed class of hundreds of thousands — typically take three to five years from filing to final resolution.

Did the federal government take a position on this case? 

The DOJ’s Antitrust Division filed a Statement of Interest on May 4, 2026, in the Ferrier case, rejecting the insurers’ legal arguments for dismissal and stating that fire victims should not face improper legal doctrines that would deny them their day in court. The DOJ took no position on whether the underlying collusion allegations are true.

Can I file my own separate lawsuit against State Farm for fire losses?

 Yes. Nothing about the class action prevents you from pursuing individual legal claims. However, if you eventually participate in the class action settlement, you may give up individual claims in that area. Consult a consumer rights lawyer familiar with California insurance bad faith law before deciding which path to take.

Sources & References

• California Department of Insurance — Enforcement action against State Farm (2026): https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2026/release019-2026.cfm
• California Department of Insurance — State Farm rate settlement (March 6, 2026): https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2026/release012-2026.cfm

Prepared by the AllAboutLawyer.com Editorial Team and reviewed for factual accuracy against official court records, DOJ filings, California Department of Insurance press releases, and primary news sources on May 17, 2026. Last Updated: May 17, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.