The diminished value of a postaccident, repaired car is a major issue in Moeller vs. Farmers Ins. Co. The Washington State Supreme Court held that a contract between an auto insured and its insured provides this coverage.
In this class action lawsuit, the lead plaintiff (Moeller), a Farmers insured, had his car damaged in a collision. Farmers paid for the repair of Moeller’s vehicle less the insured’s $500 deductible. Not satisfied with the repair, Moeller sued under a breach of contract theory. The argument was that Farmers had not restored Moeller’s car to pre-loss condition.
The overarching question before the State Supreme Court was, “[w]hat it means to pay for loss to an insured’s car, i.e., whether it means just restoring the vehicle to usable condition or also encompasses lost value.”
The Court held that the Farmers’ policy language ambiguous and construed it in favor of the insured. Thus, the plaintiff could seek recovery for repair of his car damaged and diminution of value.
DISCLAIMER
The information in this post is opinion only. In addition, and because this is my opinion, it is not intended to be (and is not) legal advice or an advertisement for legal services. This post provides general information only. Although I encourage interested parties to contact me on the subjects discussed in the article, the reader should not consider information on this site to be an invitation for an attorney-client relationship. I disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. Any e-mail sent to me will not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not use this site to send me e-mail containing confidential or sensitive information.