American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company v. Alias Bah De Za Lawrence Soudry

Let’s cut right to the chase: a man named Alias Bah De Za Lawrence Soudry — yes, that’s his full legal name — is being sued for over ten thousand dollars because he allegedly veered into oncoming traffic on a quiet Oklahoma highway and totaled someone else’s car. And no, we’re not making up the name. That’s what it says on the court documents. This isn’t a character from a Coen Brothers movie — this is real life, in McClain County, Oklahoma, where the asphalt is straight, the speed limits are generous, and apparently, so are the naming conventions.

Now, before you start picturing some wild west insurance showdown with tumbleweeds and dramatic standoffs, let’s get the players straight. On one side, we’ve got American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company — AFR, for short — a sturdily named Oklahoma-based insurer that sounds like it was founded by a man who wears cowboy boots to board meetings and owns at least three tractors. They’re not the one who got T-boned; they’re the ones who had to pay for it. The actual victim of the crash was one Zachary Scyrkels — a man whose name also sounds like it was pulled from a hat labeled “People Who Own Silverado Trucks and Listen to Toby Keith.” Zachary was just minding his own business, driving his insured vehicle lawfully down State Highway 76 (also known as North Council Avenue, because nothing says “rural Oklahoma” like a road that has two names and one stoplight) when, according to the filing, bam — out of nowhere, Lawrence Soudry allegedly crosses the center line and smashes into him.

Now, we don’t have dashcam footage, we don’t have witness statements, and we don’t know if Lawrence Soudry was texting, falling asleep, swatting a wasp, or attempting to reenact a scene from Days of Thunder. But we do know this: the Oklahoma Highway Patrol showed up, did their thing, and concluded that Soudry lost control of his vehicle and was, crucially, “left of center” — a phrase that sounds like a political commentary but in this case just means “in the wrong damn lane.” That’s not a minor detail. In car crash law — and let’s be clear, we’re not lawyers, we’re court gossip enthusiasts — being on the wrong side of the road is basically the legal equivalent of waving a red flag at a bull. It’s hard to come back from that in court. You don’t need a jury of your peers to tell you that crossing into oncoming traffic is a bad idea. Even Wile E. Coyote learned that one eventually.

So why is an insurance company, not Zachary Scyrkels himself, the one suing? Ah, welcome to the wild world of subrogation — a legal term that sounds like a Harry Potter spell but is actually just insurance companies being insurance companies. Here’s how it works: AFR paid Zachary Scyrkels $10,464.54 to fix or replace his banged-up vehicle because that’s what insurance is for. But instead of just eating the cost like saints, they’re now stepping into Zachary’s shoes — legally speaking — and going after the person they believe caused the wreck. It’s like if your friend pays for your dinner after you forget your wallet, then sends you a Venmo request the next day. Only this time, the dinner cost over ten grand, and the Venmo request comes with a court summons.

The claim? “Negligent Injury to Property.” Which, translated from Legalese to English, means: “You messed up, you hit someone’s car, and now you owe money.” The filing lays it out plainly: Soudry had a duty to stay in his lane, keep control of his vehicle, and not cause a crash. He allegedly failed on all counts. And because of that failure, AFR is now out $10,464.54 — plus interest, plus court costs, and possibly attorney fees if the judge feels spicy. They’re not asking for punitive damages, they’re not demanding a public apology, and they’re not asking Soudry to rename his firstborn in their honor. They just want their money back. And maybe a little respect for the rules of the road.

Now, is $10,464.54 a lot of money? Well, that depends on who you ask. If you’re an insurance company that handles claims in the millions, it’s a rounding error. But if you’re an individual in rural Oklahoma — where the median household income is around $60,000 — ten large is a down payment on a used truck, a year of car insurance, or, let’s be honest, a really good tractor. It’s not bankruptcy-level money, but it’s not “oops, my bad, here’s a check” money either. And since Soudry appears to be unrepresented by an attorney (at least according to the filing), he’s going to have to either show up to court and argue his case himself or risk a default judgment — which means AFR wins by forfeit, like a tennis player who doesn’t show up to the match.

What’s the most absurd part of this whole thing? Is it that someone with a name that sounds like a rejected Bond villain alias is allegedly drifting across double yellows in broad daylight? Is it that an insurance company is suing over a relatively small claim like this, when they probably process hundreds a day? Or is it the sheer normalcy of it all? This wasn’t a high-speed chase. No one died. No exotic cars were involved. Just two vehicles, one mistake, and a paper trail that led straight to the District Court of McClain County.

But here’s what we’re rooting for: clarity. We want to know if “Alias Bah De Za Lawrence Soudry” is three names, a typo, a spiritual rebirth, or a man who really wanted to stand out on his driver’s license. We want to know if he’ll show up to court in a cowboy hat or a hoodie. We want to know if he’ll argue that the road was slick, the sun was in his eyes, or that he was momentarily distracted by a particularly compelling country song. And we want to know if the judge, after reading this petition, leans back, sighs, and says, “Another one?”

Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about murder, fraud, or scandal. It’s about a car crash, a name we can’t stop saying out loud, and the quiet, grinding machinery of civil justice doing exactly what it’s supposed to do — one ten-grand claim at a time.