It's a battle of titans. Mississippi Republican Senator Trent Lott is suing State Farm insurance to get them to pay for his hurricane-damaged home.
Hurricane Katrina leveled Lott's 154-year-old waterfront home in Pascagoula, Mississippi, last August. The insurance giant says the storm surge destroyed the home. Lott had federal flood insurance, but not enough to rebuild.
The house was worth $750,000. Lott got on the Senate floor in December, pounded his fist and said homeowners along the Gulf Coast are fed up, warning that insurance companies better do the right thing or there will be "hell to pay..."
One of Lott's more colorful neighbors, Pete Floyd, is still finding some of Lott's personal effects in debris strewn throughout the neighborhood, including a Christmas photo of Lott and a silver plate Lott's daughter received as a wedding present. Floyd paid about $300 a year for flood insurance and received $130,000 dollars from his insurance company.
We chased after both parties for interviews, but Lott's office says he isn't talking about this "personal" issue. State Farm isn't talking either, saying it is a matter of "litigation." In court filings, State Farm says precedent is on their side.
It's a familiar scene being played out in courtrooms across the Gulf Coast.
Correction: An earlier version of this post reported that Senator Lott did not have flood insurance on his Gulf Coast home. In fact, Senator Lott did have federal flood insurance. CNN regrets the error.
