State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. is asking a federal judge to disqualify himself from hearing a bid to certify a class action lawsuit against the insurer over Hurricane Katrina damages.

In court papers filed Thursday, a State Farm lawyer questioned whether U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter, Jr., can be impartial in the case because a federal magistrate judge and a federal court clerk in Mississippi could be plaintiffs in a class action against the company.