Numerous class action suits have been filed against auto insurers regarding the valuation of vehicles that are total losses. These cases typically allege that insurers are undervaluing vehicles in some common way or in violation of a state regulation. The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the denial of class certification in a published decision that I
Property Insurance
Upcoming Webinar on COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Class Actions
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance, Seminars/Programs
Over the last several weeks, numerous putative class actions have been filed against insurers seeking coverage for business interruption claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 21, 2020, I will be a panelist, along with Robert M. Cooper of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and Mark P. Rapazzini of Heffler Claims Group, in a Perrin…
Labor Depreciation Class Action: New Eighth Circuit Decision
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
This week the Eighth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in a class action against State Farm involving the “labor depreciation” issue that I have covered extensively on this blog (see my August 14 post and others). State Farm prevailed on both the merits of whether its approach to determination of the actual cash value of…
Class Action Involving Application of Deductible to Actual Cash Value Payment
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
An emerging issue in class action litigation against the insurance industry involves an attempt by plaintiffs’ attorneys to argue that insurers should not be permitted to apply any deductible to payments made on an actual cash value basis. Most homeowners and commercial property insurance policies provide for insurers to make an initial payment for the…
Update on Labor Depreciation Class Actions
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
There have been two recent federal district court decisions in the widespread class action litigation involving the application of depreciation to the labor cost component of replacement cost value on property insurance claims. (For background on this issue, see my February 21, 2017 blog post.) The “labor depreciation” litigation has been trending in favor…
Georgia Diminished Value Putative Class Action: Motion to Dismiss Decision
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
In prior blog posts, I’ve covered developments in the putative class actions against insurance companies in Georgia involving diminution in value on property insurance claims (see my March 11, 2016 post, for example). These cases stem from a 2012 Georgia Supreme Court decision ruling that diminution in value following completion of repairs was potentially…
Depreciation of Labor Costs Class Action: Nebraska Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Insurer
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
I’ve regularly followed on my blog key developments in the numerous class actions against the insurance industry involving the application of depreciation to the labor cost component of estimated replacement cost value in determining actual cash value under homeowners and commercial property insurance policies. The Nebraska Supreme Court recently addressed this issue on a certified…
Labor Depreciation Class Action Update: Decisions on Class Certification
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
I have had a busy summer and am overdue in updating readers on recent decisions in class actions against insurers involving the “labor depreciation” issue. The issue involves whether, when insurers estimate the “actual cash value” of damage to real property under a property insurance policy, depreciation is properly applied to the full estimated replacement…
Property Insurance Diminution in Value Class Action: Georgia Federal Court Certifies Class
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
One of the issues I’ve been covering on this blog is a series of putative class actions in Georgia arising out of a Georgia Supreme Court decision in 2012, which held that diminution in value of real property is potentially covered under a property insurance policy (see my summary of the Georgia Supreme Court decision…
Wilcox v. State Farm: Minnesota Supreme Court Decision In Labor Depreciation Class Action
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Property Insurance
Today the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its opinion in Wilcox v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company, a putative class action alleging that State Farm, in estimating the “actual cash value” of property damage under homeowners’ insurance policies, improperly applied depreciation to the labor component of the replacement cost of damaged structures. A question…