Business in brief: Chamber names new president

Robbie Canfield has been named as the executive director and board president of the Hayden Chamber of Commerce.

The position at the nonprofit is a volunteer one for Canfield, who is the broker of Cougar/Northwest Real Estate Inc. Canfield is also a land developer, and is currently involved in a 100-acre project in the St. Maries area.

In other North Idaho chamber news, the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce has hired Pam Houser as its interim president and chief executive officer. Houser replaces Angela Alexander, who resigned effective Dec. 31.

The Post Falls chamber board has formed a search committee, with the goal of hiring a new president/CEO within 10 to 12 weeks.

Gulfport, Miss.

State Farm loses Katrina lawsuit

A jury on Thursday awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages to a couple who sued State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. for denying their claim after Hurricane Katrina, a decision that could benefit hundreds of other homeowners challenging insurers for refusing to cover billions of dollars in storm damage.

A federal judge only hours earlier had taken part of the case out of jurors’ hands before they awarded punitive damages to State Farm policyholders Norman and Genevieve Broussard.

U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled Thursday morning that State Farm is liable for $223,292 in damage Hurricane Katrina caused to the Broussards’ home. Senter left it to a jury to decide whether to award punitive damages.

Bentonville, Ark.

Wal-Mart says few add insurance

The booster shot that Wal-Mart gave to its company-arranged health insurance has increased enrollment only slightly, with fewer than half of the retailer’s eligible employees signing up for plans tweaked twice in the past 16 months.

Figures released by the world’s largest retailer Thursday showed that 47 percent of its eligible employees are covered by its health plans. A year ago, it was 46 percent; in 2005, just 43 percent of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. workers were covered by company-arranged health insurance, Wal-Mart claims. But union-backed WakeUpWalMart.com said the enrollment figures in Wal-Mart’s latest report conflict with numbers attributed to them in media reports over the past two years, and are actually lower.

Seattle

Costco lawsuit to be class action

A federal judge has granted class-action status to a lawsuit accusing Costco Wholesale Corp. of denying promotions to women.

Under the order from U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, the class will include women who have been denied promotions to certain senior staff or management positions at Costco since Jan. 3, 2002. Former employees also are included.

The plaintiffs claim the company was quicker to promote less-qualified men and refused to give proper notice of advancement opportunities.