NEW ORLEANS AP – State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. is asking a federal appealscourt to throw out a landmark $1 million punitive damage award to a Mississippi couple who sued the insurer for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina damage to their home.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday from lawyers on both sides of the case, which was the first among hundreds of Katrina insurance lawsuits to be tried by a jury in Mississippi.