Ruffulo v. Farmers Settlement

Plaintiffs are two former agents appointed by Defendants Farmers Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and Fire Insurance Exchange, among others (collectively, “Farmers”), who filed a lawsuit (the “Action”) alleging that they and other Farmers agents outside of the state of California were misclassified as independent contractors and that their contracts were pretextually terminated by Farmers pursuant to its Managing Underperforming Agents (“MUA”) process in violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). In the Action, Plaintiffs also pursued claims for alleged unpaid overtime on behalf of themselves and other Farmers agents outside of the state of California. Those claims are also being settled but are addressed in a separate Notice directed at those the FLSA Collective Members.

Defendants fully deny the allegations made by Plaintiffs and assert that Farmers insurance agents were properly classified as independent contractors and the FEHA Class Members’ contracts were properly terminated as a result of their agency’s poor business results, not on the basis of age. Importantly, the Court has not decided the employment status of Plaintiffs or any other Settlement Class Member and/or whether Defendants violated any law. Without admitting any liability, Defendants have agreed to settle these claims to avoid the costs of further litigation.

The Settlement covers anyone who (i) signed a Farmers Agent Appointment Agreement or a Farmers Corporate Agent Appointment Agreement; (ii) worked as a Farmers agent or Supervising Agent for an incorporated Farmers agency outside of the state of California at any time between March 9, 2020, and September 30, 2025 (the “Settlement Class Period”); (iii) whose appointment was terminated by Farmers in connection with the Managing Underperforming Agents Process (as defined in Section 1.2 of the Settlement Agreement); and (iv) who was 40 years of age or older on the effective date of their appointment’s termination (these individuals are referred to as the “FEHA Class Members”).

On January 5, 2026, the Court preliminary approved a Settlement Agreement agreed to by the Parties and authorized the mailing of the Notice to you. You have received the Notice because Defendants’ records indicate you were an agent appointed with Farmers working outside of the state of California during the Settlement Class Period and were also terminated pursuant to the MUA program.

Pursuant to the Settlement, Defendants agreed to pay up to a total of $10,000,000 (“Gross Settlement Amount”) to resolve all claims asserted in the Action, inclusive of all alleged lost compensation, punitive damages, penalties, interest, attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses, service payments to Plaintiffs, individual Settlement payments to Participating FEHA Class Members, the costs of administering the Settlement, and all other Settlement-related payments and costs. $5,500,000 of the Gross Settlement Amount is allocated to the FEHA Class claims, and $4,500,000 of it is being allocated to the FLSA overtime claims.

The Court approved the Settlement on June 15, 2026. You may view the Final Approval Order under the Documents section.

The Court appointed the following lawyers as Settlement Class Counsel to represent the FEHA Class Members:

Settlement Class Counsel has pursued the lawsuit on a contingent basis and has not received any payment of fees or any reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses related to the recovery on behalf of the FEHA Class. As part of the Settlement, subject to Court approval, Settlement Class Counsel will apply for Fees, Costs, and Expenses in an amount not to exceed 33.33% of the Gross Settlement Amount. In addition, Plaintiffs who were named in the complaint in this case and expended significant time and effort in getting the claims litigated and settled will seek service payments of no greater than $10,000 each for their role in this case. Additionally, an amount of up to $114,000 will be paid to the Settlement Administrator for services administering the Settlement. Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses and service payments will not be deducted from your estimated Settlement payment.

The deadline to exclude yourself or object to the Settlement was April 9, 2026, and has passed. If you did nothing and are deemed to be a member of the FEHA Class, you will receive a share of the FEHA Settlement and you will be deemed to have released and waived the Released Claims. You should keep the Settlement Administrator informed of any changes to your address until you have received your FEHA Settlement check and tax reporting forms.

By not excluding yourself from the Settlement, you and each of your respective agents, companies (e.g., your incorporated agency, if applicable), representatives, assigns, spouses, and heirs, past and present, and any and all other persons or entities who could claim through you hereby release and forever discharge the Released Parties with respect to any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, attorneys’ fees, costs of suit, actions, or causes of action of every kind and nature whether at common law, pursuant to statute, ordinance, or regulation, in equity or otherwise, whether arising under federal, state, or other applicable law, whether known or unknown, actual or potential, suspected or unsuspected, direct or indirect, or contingent or fixed that have been alleged, could have been alleged, or in the future might be alleged, that reasonably arise out of or reasonably relate to the facts and/or claims set forth in the Operative Complaint during the Settlement Class Period, which is March 9, 2020, through September 30, 2025, relating to Plaintiffs’ second through fourth causes of action under the FEHA (i.e., disparate impact age discrimination; disparate treatment age discrimination; and failure to prevent age discrimination), including, but not limited to, Plaintiffs’ claims that they and the FEHA Class Members were misclassified as independent contractors, rather than employees, that the termination of their contracts was discriminatory, pretextual and/or unlawful, and that they and the FEHA Class Members were discriminated against and/or subject to unlawful employment practices in violation of FEHA and any other state and/or federal workplace discrimination laws, including, without limitation, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act.

“Released Parties” means Defendants Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and Farmers Group, Inc., as well as Mid-Century Insurance Company, and New World Life Insurance Company and each of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, and each of their present and former predecessors, successors, assigns, parent companies, divisions, members, owners, executives, officers, directors, governors, shareholders, advisors, joint venturers, insurers, attorneys, accountants, agents and agent staff, district managers and district manager staff, principals, partners, representatives, employees, attorneys-in-fact, consultants, contractors, servants, vendors, managers, and their trustees, administrators, fiduciaries, co- defendants, administrators, related individuals and/or entities, insurers, and/or any and all individuals and/or entities acting by, through, under, or in concert with any of them or otherwise affiliated with them, past and present, but to the extent, and only to the extent, that they acted in their capacity as such.

The Court approved the Settlement on June 15, 2026. You may view the Final Approval Order under the Documents tab above.

Tax Matters

The Settlement Administrator will report payments to FEHA Collective Members on IRS 1099 Forms. Neither Plaintiffs, Settlement Class Counsel, Defendants, nor Defendants' attorneys are providing you with any advice regarding taxes or taxability of any payments made to you in connection with this Settlement. You assume full responsibility and liability for taxes owed on any payment you receive. You should consult with your financial or tax advisor with respect to any questions regarding these payments.

A hearing was held before the Honorable Judge Fernando M. Olguin of the United States District Court for the Central District of California on June 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 6D of the First Street Courthouse. The purpose of the hearing was for the Court to decide whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and should be approved and, if so, to determine what amount of attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses and service payments to the named Plaintiffs should be awarded. The Court approved the Settlement on June 15, 2026. You may view the Final Approval Order under the Documents section above.

Defendants will not retaliate against you for participating in this Action and/or this Settlement.

This Website only summarizes this Action, the Settlement, and related matters. For more information about the Settlement or if you have any questions regarding the Settlement, you may examine the court file for the Action, contact the Settlement Administrator or contact Settlement Class Counsel.

You may also obtain additional information concerning the Settlement from the Documents page above, or by contacting the Settlement Administrator at:

By Mail:

Ruffulo v. Farmers Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 5526
Portland, OR 97228-5526

By Phone:

877-768-6775

To see the complete court file, including a copy of the Settlement Agreement, you should visit the Clerk of the Court, United States Courthouse, Central District of California, 350 W. 1st Street, 6th Floor, Courtroom 6D, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The Clerk will make all files relating to this Action available to you for inspection and copying at your expense.

Do not contact the Court for any reason other than obtaining a copy of the complete court file which must be requested in person.