Oregon Court Rules in Favor of Car Owner in Property Damage Claim
The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of an Oregon auto insurance policy holder who made a claim for "diminished value." In this case, the car owner claimed that even after the insurance company paid for the repairs to his pick up truck, the truck was still not worth as much as it was prior to the auto collision. In other words, the pick up truck owner claimed "diminished value."
The insurance company refused to pay for the reduced or diminished value of the truck. In 1999, the pick up truck owner filed a class action lawsuit. This is a lawsuit that allows you to file a case not only on your own behalf, but also on behalf of any other person who was denied the same type of claim. The trial court dismissed the case, but the Court of Appeals reinstated the suit. The Oregon Supreme Court agreed, paving the way for possible recovery for most insurance-covered repairs in Oregon since 1993. That's a lot of claims.
More recently, insurance companies have specifically excluded diminished value claims from their policies. However, that's only been the case since about 2003.
Even more interesting is that this case may not only affect claims against Farmers Insurance, the defendant in this class action suit, but claims with Allstate, State Farm, and Progressive.
Stay tuned.
