A recent Texas Supreme Court decision in a class action caught my eye because it addressed several significant class certification issues, including one that I’ve seen regularly and another that the court analyzed in a new...more
6/3/2024
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Standing ,
TX Supreme Court ,
USAA
A recent Ninth Circuit decision highlights the importance of the defendant clearly pleading the basis for alleging the amount in controversy in a notice of removal under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). In this case,...more
Last week the Fifth Circuit issued a short opinion that made an important point that does not arise often in class certification decisions. Class certification failed because the plaintiffs’ proposed theory of liability would...more
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...more
2/15/2022
/ Auto Insurance ,
Breach of Contract ,
Car Accident ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Fair Market Value ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Policy Terms ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Valuation
The legal media have been inundated with articles by lawyers who represent policyholders and insurance companies discussing business interruption claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of this discussion has carried...more
One practice that has plagued the insurance industry in recent years has been contractors soliciting homeowners to make insurance claims after a hailstorm, for example, and then obtaining an assignment of rights to the claim...more
A recent decision by a Washington federal district court caught my eye because it involved a circumstance I often see—a new development in the law results in a class action lawsuit being filed before the defendant has an...more
2/11/2020
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Auto Insurance ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Damages ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Likelihood of Harm ,
Mootness ,
Policy Terms ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Superiority Claims ,
Treble Damages
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. State Farm prevailed on both the merits...more
10/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Cash Value ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Depreciation ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Repairs ,
State Farm
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...more
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...more
8/15/2017
/ Class Action ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Depreciation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Repairs ,
Replacement Costs ,
State Farm
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)....more
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...more
It’s been a while since I updated you on the status of class action litigation regarding the application of depreciation to labor costs on property insurance claims. There have been three decisions since my last update, with...more
I’ve been following closely a series of class actions around the country alleging that, in calculating the “actual cash value” of property damage under a homeowners or commercial property insurance policy, insurance companies...more
One theory that has been raised by plaintiffs’ lawyers in some insurance class actions is that policyholders should receive a partial refund of their premiums because they are not receiving the coverage they paid for, or...more
As 2014 comes to a close, here are a few observations on key trends I’ve seen in insurance class actions (and class actions more broadly) over the last year...more