Oklahoma subpoena watch
Mulready Subpoenaed Over the State Farm Roof-Claim Examination
A mandamus case against the commissioner just collided with the one Oklahoma statute that puts examination working papers outside the reach of a civil subpoena.
Photo: Oklahoma Legislative Services Bureau / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
In short
Two subpoenas duces tecum signed 31 August 2026 command Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready and his custodian of records to produce the department's State Farm roof-claim examination file. 36 O.S. § 309.4(F) states that examination working papers are not subject to subpoena and contains no court-order exception, so the 21 September deposition tests a statutory bar rather than producing documents.
A subpoena duces tecum signed 31 August 2026 commands Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready to sit for deposition on 21 September at 10 a.m. His answer in the same case came due 8 September. Counsel filed an unopposed application that day to push it to 28 September, and no order granting it appears on the docket. 1 Proof of service reached the Oklahoma County docket on 9 September, along with a second subpoena to the department's custodian of records returnable 2 October. Reggie Whitten, Michael Burrage, Lauren Guhl and Hannah Whitten signed both. 1
The underlying action is a mandamus petition under 12 O.S. § 1451, filed 18 August 2026 by Bob Burke (OBA #1329) with the Whitten Burrage lawyers as co-counsel, asking the court to "issue a writ of mandamus, ordering the Defendant to release to the public his overdue examination report on roof-claim handling practices of State Farm." 1 Craig and Elizabeth Gutierrez are the plaintiffs; State Farm denied replacement of their roof after twenty minutes of three-inch hail hit northwest Oklahoma City in September 2024. 1
Mulready is sued in his official capacity only. 1
Coverage has framed this as transparency politics, and who reported what is its own story. Read the records demand instead.
What § 309.4(F) actually says
Both subpoenas carry the same demand: "any and all records, digital or paper, from January 1, 2023, to the present date regarding an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department into roof-claim handling by State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance Company," including correspondence about "the hiring of engineers or other claims professionals dispatched to inspect the work of State Farm adjusters" and the department's own analysis of those inspections. 1 That is a description of examination working papers.
36 O.S. § 309.4(F) provides that working papers, recorded information, documents and data calls produced by, obtained by or disclosed to the Commissioner in the course of an examination "shall be given confidential treatment and are not subject to subpoena." 2 The exceptions run to subsection E, to § 309.3(F), to NAIC access, and to the examined company's prior written consent. 2 A court order is not among them. 2 So 21 September tests a statutory bar on subpoenas rather than moving documents.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec 8, 2025 | Mulready says the roof-claim investigation will conclude in Q1 2026 |
| Jul 27, 2026 | AG Drummond demands the report, findings and workpapers |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Gutierrez mandamus petition filed; Mulready calls it frivolous |
| Aug 31, 2026 | Both subpoenas duces tecum signed |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Answer due; unopposed application filed to enlarge the deadline to Sep 28 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | Mulready deposition commanded |
| Oct 2, 2026 | OID custodian of records deposition commanded |
Mulready's position has not moved since before the suit. On 8 December 2025 he said the department had been "engaged in an ongoing investigation for the past two years now regarding the handling of roof claims," that "there are strict confidentiality laws surrounding these investigations," and that Oklahoma was to his knowledge the first insurance department in the country to send third-party engineers out to inspect adjusters' work. He expected it concluded in the first quarter of 2026. 6 Attorney General Gentner Drummond demanded on 27 July 2026 that the report, the findings and the supporting workpapers be released publicly by that Friday. 5 Three weeks later Mulready called the suit frivolous and said the independent examiner had not yet submitted a final report: "I cannot release a final report that does not yet exist." 4
The soft joint is § 309.4(E)(1): the Commissioner "may open the report for public inspection." 2 Permissive language. Mandamus reaches a plain legal duty that leaves no room for discretion, and the petition quotes subsections A through C without reaching E or F. 1
Fourteen days to object, and no motion required
Under 12 O.S. § 2004.1(C)(2)(b) a person commanded to produce may serve written objection within fourteen days of service. Once that objection is served, the issuing party "shall not be entitled to inspect, copy, test or sample the materials" absent an order of the issuing court. 3 The department does not have to move first; the objection shifts the burden onto the Gutierrezes to move to compel. If the fight reaches a motion, § 2004.1(C)(3)(a) directs that the court "shall quash or modify the subpoena" where it requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no exception or waiver applies. 3 The statute says shall.
For your files, this is about where to spend effort. The regulator's examination file sits outside the reach of a civil subpoena, so the engineer reports OID commissioned on State Farm adjusters' work will not become a discovery target. Party discovery in your insured's own suit still reaches the carrier's claim file. Whitten Burrage is running West v. State Farm (Comanche County CJ-2025-135) and Hursh v. State Farm (Oklahoma County CJ-2025-2626), and the internal documents unsealed in West on 20 August 2026 came out that way. Colorado went the other direction by statute.
What the docket does not settle is whether OID will object, move to quash, or negotiate a date. A noticed deposition is not a held one. Nothing filed as of 18 September 2026 shows an objection, a motion or a continuance, and the fourteen-day window ran from service in early September. 1
Open questions on the docket
Can a district court order the Insurance Department to hand over examination working papers anyway?
It depends on how the court reads 36 O.S. § 309.4(F). The text says those records are not subject to subpoena, and the listed exceptions are subsection E, Section 309.3(F), NAIC access, and the examined company's prior written consent. No court-order carve-out appears in the section.
Is Commissioner Mulready being sued personally?
No. The caption names him in his official capacity as Insurance Commissioner of the State of Oklahoma, in Gutierrez v. Mulready, Case No. CV-2026-1996, District Court of Oklahoma County, Judge Natalie Mai.
Does OID have to file a motion to quash before the 21 September deposition?
No. Under 12 O.S. § 2004.1(C)(2)(b) a person commanded to produce may serve a written objection within fourteen days after service, and once that objection is served the issuing party cannot inspect or copy the materials except by order of the issuing court. The burden then falls on the plaintiffs to move to compel.
Will the depositions actually go forward on 21 September and 2 October?
Unknown. Both dates are commanded by subpoena rather than agreed, and depositions of agency heads are routinely continued, objected to, or replaced by briefing. Nothing on the docket as of 18 September 2026 shows either date held or vacated.
Has the examination report been finished?
No. OID said on 18 August 2026 that the independent examiner had not yet submitted a final report and that the commissioner cannot release a report that does not yet exist, after saying in December 2025 that the investigation would conclude in the first quarter of 2026.
What does this change for a public adjuster working an Oklahoma hail file?
It narrows where the useful documents live. The regulator's examination file is shielded from civil subpoena, so the engineer reports OID commissioned on State Farm adjusters' work are not a realistic discovery target. The carrier's own claim file, reached through party discovery in the insured's own suit, is.
Sources cited
- Gutierrez v. Mulready, No. CV-2026-1996 (Okla. Cnty. Dist. Ct.) docket— Oklahoma State Courts Network
- 36 O.S. § 309.4 — Examination reports; confidentiality of working papers— Oklahoma State Courts Network
- 12 O.S. § 2004.1 — Subpoena— Oklahoma State Courts Network
- Commissioner Mulready Responds to Lawsuit Seeking Release of Unfinished Market Conduct Examination (Aug. 18, 2026)— Oklahoma Insurance Department
- Drummond Demands Release of Overdue Insurance Examination Report (July 27, 2026)— Oklahoma Attorney General
- Insurance Commissioner Issues Statement About State Farm Lawsuit (Dec. 8, 2025)— Oklahoma Insurance Department
Statutory clocks, tracked on every file.
claimOS calendars these deadlines automatically on each claim: acknowledgement, decision, payment, and the suit limitation, each with its code section attached and visible to the whole team.