Has anyone won a Diminished Value claim in court?

Question

I was rear-ended and the damages were $13,000. Vehicle was repaired and I attempted to negotiate with Farmers Insurance for DV. They stonewalled me. Next I hired a speciality firm to give me a DV claim report, which they claimed would have the insurance company jumping on the phone to call me and settle out of court. They did not, they offered me nothing. Now I have sent a demand letter to the driver for the claim--which is also supposed to get his insurance company jumping on the phone to settle out of court. But what if they don't? If I do go to court, what are my chances? A lawyer told me small claims is great with this stuff, however I find it very strange that googling seems to find no one out there talking about winning DV in court. It seems that you either deal with a good insurance company and they will settle with you immediately, or you struggle against them and get nothing. Farmers even cheated me out a week's car rental, saying the "repair took too long"!

State is California, and this is a "third-party" claim; in other words, the insurance company I am dealing with is not my own, but the perpetrator's.

Answer 1

I worked in claims for Farmers for nearly 10 years and was on the insurance side of this many times. I may be able to offer an inside perspective on this but doubt that it differs from other insurance companies. You should check with your state to be sure a claim like this is valid. Some allow it but cap how old a car you may claim this on (such as only those vehicles 6 model yrs and newer can make the claim). Assuming it is, you're doing exactly what I would do in your situation. The problem is proving it. First, you have to realize the loss by selling or trading the vehicle. Until you do that, your loss is on paper, just like a stock or mutual fund may be. Your loss today would be greater than, say, two years from now. T prove your case is often difficult. A sworn/notarized letter (or simply on dealership letterhead) from one or two local, reputable used car sales mgrs stating the pre and post-accident value may suffice. In person testimony is better. You may luck out in SCC and win with what you have but the burden of proof is on you. You would have to sue the driver of the other car, NOT Farmers. Furthermore, Farmers may bump the matter to circuit court to more formally address the loss and that would force you to decide to rep. yourself or retain counsel. The reasoning for this is SCC is a crapshoot and decisions generally can't be appealed. I've seen people win these and, more often, lose them. We've paid those that presented good support of their loss w/o going to court and resisted others that poorly supported their claim. It's entirely a case by case thing in each state. It rests on the strength of your proof and they won't be jumping on the phone to settle unless you have a well documented loss AND you've sold/traded the car. Check your state's property damage statute of limitations to see how long you have, assemble your documentation, make an appt with the adjustor to meet in person and ask that his supv and/or mrg. be present as well, make a reasonable presentation of monetary demand (usually 10-20% of the vehicle value) in a professional and cordial manner. Ask questions of them as to what you're missing, if anything, to prove this and be prepared to negotiate. A hot-headed demand in the clouds will likely get you the door. You may not get everything you came for and they may pay more than they'd like but that's usually a sign of a good settlement (if they're willing to pay at all). Your last resort is to sue in SCC. Good luck, my friend.

Answer 2

You don't say where you're from - many states have passed laws barring Diminished Value claims, check the link below.

Also, the Farmer's policy may have a specific exclusion that states they do not cover Diminished Value. You will need to check either with Farmers or with your state's Insurance Dept. If that's the case, they won't pay, period.

Your only option then would be to take the vehicle owner him/herself to court, assuming it's allowed by law.

I think you're not finding out much about it because there's very few states left that even allow individuals to present diminished value claims, unless they incur an ACTUAL loss, ie, you go to sell your car and have paperwork showing you actually made less and that the cause of that loss is only the accident.

I'd do some checking before you pay a lawyer any more money.

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California is indeed one of the states that allow insurance companies to write ISO policy language that protects them against DV Claims -- regardless if you're the insured or the claimant..

I recommend you contact the California DOI or an attorney that specializes in Property Damage Liability or, heck, even Insurance Defense (they'd know the ropes!) and find out if you're even eligible for a DV claim before you spin your wheels anymore.

Answer 3

Many variables here...DV is not established by a computer program or an appraiser. It is just a ghost number until the day you sell the vehicle. Dv does indeed exist; two identical vehicles on a used car lot will NOT sell for the same amount if one is accident-free and the other has had 13K worth of repairs. Many states no longer recognize DV because it is so difficult to establish. You didn't give any details about losing a weeks worth of rental -- could be that you did not give the OK to repair for a week. No one will pay you if you sandbag. Could be that you are just dealing with some dumb-a$$ed adjusters (plenty of them out there). Farmers is not known for poor claims practices. If your states allows DV then small claims could be the way to approach this. Just be armed with as much supporting data as you can find and make sure the judge understands what you are looking for. One last thing -- forget about a massive payment. So many dorks think that DV = the cost of repairs to a vehicle. This is nonsense and if you wheel into court with an outrageous demand you will likely recieve zip.

Answer 4

Value Claim

Answer 5

Just curious, the person that orignially posted the qustion (8 years ago) regarding Diminished Value in Court, did you win? My car was hit a few months ago with $10,000 damage (3rd party fault) and and claimed numerous times to Farmers Insurance with no success. I even sold my car and lost value and have proof from two dealers and they still denied the claim. This is in CA. I am considering going to small claim court but not sure if I have the case. Anyone has similar stories?

Answer 6

It really depends on where you live. Some states do not recognize DV. So, that's the first thing. The other part of it is if the state does, they may not have to pay unless you trade the vehicle in or sell it and can prove you lost money due to DV. With anything under the sun that goes to court, you never know what will happen. If you get a judge who doesn't understand DV, you could lose; you could just flat-out lose. Best of luck to you!

Answer 7

If your attorney told you that small claims was the way to go, that's what I'd be doing. I'd also add in the additional week of the rental car.

Answer 8

Wanted to ask this question too this morning

Answer 9

I was on YA for something or other, then this question was trending on the sidebar...

Answer 10

I have the same question