GULFPORT, Miss. - A federal judge ruled against an insurance company Thursday in a Hurricane Katrina damage case that may have implications for hundreds of other homeowner lawsuits against insurers who refused to cover billions of dollars in damage from the storm’s surge.

U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled that State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. is liable for $223,292 in damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to a Biloxi couple’s home, but said a jury must decide whether to award millions of dollars more in punitive damages.

The jury was expected to start weighing punitive damages on Thursday afternoon.

Some of Senter’s earlier rulings in other Katrina cases have favored the insurance industry, but his decision Thursday could give a boost to other lawsuits that homeowners filed against insurers after the storm.

Read more at YahooNews