What is an Appraisal?
We saw more of the same in the past six months in total loss, tag and title, and labor depreciation class actions, in both merits and class certification decisions. A few state-specific claims appeared in class actions, along...more
The final quarter of 2018 witnessed a number of new twists on old theories in class actions involving auto and homeowners claims and coverages, as well as further activity in some long-running class actions. ...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the European Data Protection Board's published opinions on data protection impact assessments, an Ohio court's ruling that bitcoin is covered insured...more
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...more
The court in Thompson v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30308 (D. Ga. 2016), recently issued a mixed ruling on class certification regarding diminished value claims for Georgia homeowners. The plaintiffs...more
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...more
In Adams et al. v. United Services Automobile Ass’n et al., W.D. Ark. No. 2:14-cv-02013, Chief District Judge P.K. Holmes III of the Western District of Arkansas will soon decide whether to sanction attorneys who negotiated a...more
Insurance contracts are subject to numerous statutes and regulations specifying whether and how certain facts must be disclosed, certain coverages must be offered and certain coverage options must be accepted or declined. ...more
The filed rate doctrine can often provide a strong defense to an insurer in a class action claiming that insurance premiums were too high for some reason. A recent Second Circuit decision applied the doctrine broadly. This...more
As an update to my March 29, 2015 blog post on the status of class actions on the labor depreciation issue, a Kansas federal court recently granted summary judgment in favor of an insurer. In Graves v. American Family...more
Class action litigation is spreading across the country involving the application of depreciation in calculating the actual cash value of property damage under homeowners and commercial property insurance policies. This blog...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted defendant State Auto’s motion to strike plaintiffs’ class allegations, holding that the complaint itself demonstrated that the proposed class was not...more
Insurers typically adjust (or propose to adjust) the policy limits on a homeowners’ policy every year to take into account changes in the cost of construction. This is intended to help insureds make sure that sufficient...more
Following Hurricane Katrina, the State of Louisiana filed a class action to recover under homeowners’ insurance policies that the state had received by assignment through a disaster relief program. The insurers successfully...more