The Bad Neighbor, by Freda Moon [State Farm v. Pyorre]

The Bad Neighbor, by Freda Moon [State Farm v. Pyorre]: "Suddenly, David v. Goliath sprung up in Mendocino County's Ukiah Courthouse. A local man was suing the largest insurance company in the country, arguing not only that they had wronged him, but that the entire way they do business is fundamentally unfair and unethical. And he won.

At least at first.

There are three main issues in his case, according to Pyorre. First, State Farm seduces people to the insurance business (hardly a seductive trade) by promoting the great American entrepreneurial fantasy, the dream of being their own boss. State Farm's agents are independent contractors, not employees. State Farm has no authority to make demands on their time or the day-to-day operation of their businesses. Yet, increasingly, they do. Where it used to be up to the agent to determine what type of services they offered their clients, State Farm is increasingly pushy in getting agents to sell State Farm's newly-offered financial services and to attend mandatory meetings, which were once optional."