Cedarview v. State Auto

A court authorized the Class Notice because you have a right to know about the Proposed Settlement of this Class Action, including the right to claim money, and about your options regarding this Settlement before the Court decides whether to give “Final Approval” to the Settlement. If the Court approves the Parties’ Class Action Stipulation of Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”), and if any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement, then payments will be made to those who qualify and timely submit a valid Claim Form. The Class Notice explains this Action, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who may be eligible for them, and how to get them.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Oxford Division is overseeing this class action. The case is known as Cedarview Mart, LLC v. State Auto Property & Casualty. Company, No. 3:20-cv-00107-NBB-RP.

The person who sued is called the “Plaintiff,” and the company it sued is called the “Defendant.”

To view a copy of the Class Notice, click here

The lawsuit claims that Defendant improperly deducted Nonmaterial Depreciation when adjusting some Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Structural Loss claims under Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee property insurance policies.

Defendant has denied all allegations that it acted wrongfully or unlawfully.

In a class action, the person called the “Representative Plaintiff” (in this case, Cedarview Mart, LLC) sues on behalf of people who have similar claims. All these people are “Class Members.” One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court did not finally decide all issues in the case, but it has rendered important rulings. After these rulings, both sides agreed to settle. By settling, the Parties avoid the cost of a trial and potentially an appeal, and the people who qualify will get compensation. The Representative Plaintiff and its attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Class Members. The Settlement does not mean that State Auto did anything wrong, no trial has occurred, and no merits determinations have been made.

If you received a Class Notice, then you have been identified as someone who is possibly a Class Member. The Settlement Class includes the following:

All Class Members within the Mississippi Settlement Class or the Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee Settlement Class (except for those explicitly excluded below), which are defined as follows:

“Mississippi Settlement Class” means all policyholders, (except for those explicitly excluded below), under any property insurance policy issued by State Auto, who made: (i) a Structural Loss claim for property located in the State of Mississippi between April 2, 2017, through February 16, 2021; and (ii) that resulted in an ACV Payment from which Nonmaterial Depreciation was withheld, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible.

“Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee Settlement Class” means all policyholders, (except for those explicitly excluded below), under: (A) any property insurance policy with a one-year suit limitation issued by State Auto, who made: (i) a Structural Loss claim for property located in the States of Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, or Tennessee between April 2, 2019, through February 16, 2021; and (ii) that resulted in an ACV Payment from which Nonmaterial Depreciation was withheld, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible; or (B) any property insurance policy with a two-year suit limitation issued by State Auto, who made: (i) a Structural Loss claim for property located in the States of Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, or Tennessee between April 2, 2018, through February 16, 2021; and (ii) that resulted in an ACV Payment from which Nonmaterial Depreciation was withheld, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible.

“ACV Payment” is calculated by estimating the replacement cost value of the covered damage for a Structural Loss claim and subtracting the estimated Depreciation, including Nonmaterial Depreciation, and any applicable deductible.

“Class Period” means the following time periods:

For Structural Loss claims made under property insurance policies issued in the State of Mississippi, the Class Period is: April 2, 2017, through February 16, 2021;

For Structural Loss claims made under property insurance policies issued in the States of Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, or Tennessee with a two-year suit limitation clause, the Class Period is: April 2, 2018, through February 16, 2021.

For Structural Loss claims made under property insurance policies issued in the States of Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, or Tennessee with a one-year suit limitation clause, the Class Period is: April 2, 2019, through February 16, 2021;

“Nonmaterial Depreciation” means Depreciation of labor costs, overhead and profit, and/or other non-material items included within Xactimate® estimating software, and specifically including Depreciation resulting from the application of either the “depreciate removal,” “depreciate non-material,” and/or “depreciate O&P” depreciation option settings.

“Structural Loss” means physical damage to a home, building, manufactured home, condo, rental dwelling, or other structure located in the State of Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, or Tennessee while covered by a commercial property, homeowners residential, manufactured home, condo, dwelling, or rental property insurance policy issued by State Auto.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (a) policyholders whose claims arose under policy forms, endorsements, or riders expressly permitting the Nonmaterial Depreciation within the text of the policy form, endorsement or rider, i.e., by express use of the words “depreciation” and “labor;” (b) policyholders who received one or more ACV Payments for a claim that exhausted the applicable limits of insurance; (c) policyholders whose claims were denied or abandoned without an ACV Payment for any reason other than that the ACV payment was not made solely because the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation caused the loss to drop below the applicable deductible; (d) Policyholders where no Xactimate® estimate was generated by State Auto; (e) State Auto and its officers and directors; (f) members of the judiciary and their staff to whom this Action is assigned and their immediate families; and (g) Class Counsel and their immediate families (collectively, “Exclusions”).

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you may call the toll-free number 1-855-662-0007.

Under the Settlement, Defendant has agreed to pay Class Members as follows:

1. Subject to the terms, limits, conditions, coverage limits, and deductibles of policies, Claim Settlement Payments for members of the Kentucky Settlement Class, Mississippi Settlement Class, Ohio Settlement Class and Tennessee Settlement Class who timely file valid and completed Claim Forms by December 22, 2022, shall be equal to 105% of the net estimated Nonmaterial Depreciation that was withheld from ACV Payments and not subsequently paid, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible, determined as described herein;
2. For Class Members identified under subsection (a) for whom all Nonmaterial Depreciation that was withheld from ACV Payments was subsequently paid, payment shall be according to the below schedule:
   
   

   Amount of nonmaterial released depreciation	Settlement Payment
   $1–$5,000	$25
   $5,001–$10,000	$50
   $10,001–$20,000	$100
   $20,001–$40,000	$200
   $40,001–$60,000	$300
   $60,001–$80,000	$400
   Greater than $80,000	$500

3. For members of the Illinois Settlement Class, Defendant will pay 80% of the amounts set forth in Sections (a) and (b) above.

“Assignment or Assigned Contractor” An Assignment is a legal term that refers to a situation whereby you signed your policy benefits for the Loss to a Third Party, such as a Contractor. You would have gotten a contract from the Third Party that was explicit as an Assignment. It is not a common practice.

An Assignment gives the contractor authority to collect the proceeds of your insurance claim directly from State Auto or to contact State Auto concerning payment.

An Assignment is not when you hire a Contractor whom you pay with the proceeds from the policy claim settlement.

The contractor may have performed the work, but that does not necessarily mean the insurance claim was Assigned to them.

“ACV Payment” is calculated by estimating the replacement cost value of the covered damage for a Structural Loss claim and subtracting the estimated Depreciation, including Nonmaterial Depreciation and any applicable deductible.

“Nonmaterial Depreciation” means Depreciation of labor costs, overhead and profit, and/or other non-material items included within Xactimate® estimating software, and specifically including Depreciation resulting from the application of either the “depreciate removal,” “depreciate non-material,” and/or “depreciate O&P” depreciation option settings.

“Structural Loss” means physical damage to a home, building, manufactured home, condo, rental dwelling, or other structure located in the State of Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, or Tennessee while covered by a commercial property, homeowners residential, manufactured home, condo, dwelling, or rental property insurance policy issued by State Auto.

Distribution is anticipated to occur in May 2023 for those who timely submitted a valid Claim Form and qualified for payment. Payments and Determination letters will be mailed to the address we have on file. Please make sure to update your mailing address if you move prior to receiving correspondence from the Settlement Administrator. If you do need to update your address, please call the Settlement Administrator at 1-855-662-0007.

Thank you for your patience.

Unless you exclude yourself, you are staying in the Settlement Class, and that means that you cannot sue State Auto and the Released Persons over the claims settled in this Action. It also means that all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.

If you submit a Claim Form, or simply stay in the Settlement Class by doing nothing, you will agree to release all “Released Persons” of all “Released Claims.” “Released Persons” and “Released Claims” are defined in the Agreement, which you can request a copy of by calling 1-855-662-0007, or by clicking here.

The deadline to Exclude yourself passed on September 26, 2022.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue State Auto for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to sue State Auto over the claims resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive a payment from this Settlement.

The Court appointed the following law firms to represent you and other Class Members as “Class Counsel”: Erik Peterson of Erik Peterson Law Offices, PSC; Brandon McWherter of McWherter Scott Bobbitt PLC; and Thomas Snodgrass of Snodgrass Law LLC. You do not have to pay Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, and potentially have that lawyer appear in court for you in this case, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for up to $1,129,722.00 for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of their expenses and will ask the Court to award the Representative Plaintiff up to $7,500.00 for representing the Settlement Class. Defendant has agreed not to oppose the request for fees and expenses up to the above referenced amounts. The Court may award less than the above amounts. Defendant will separately pay the fees and expenses the Court orders. These payments will not reduce the amount distributed to Class Members. Defendant will also separately pay the costs to administer the Settlement.

The deadline to object to the Settlement Agreement passed on September 26, 2022.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class.

Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class or the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object, because the case no longer affects you.

If you object, and the Court approves the Settlement anyway, you will be legally bound by the result.

The Final Approval hearing was held on November 7, 2022 at the United States Courthouse of the Northern District of Mississippi, located in Oxford, MS. The Court approved the Settlement Agreement. You may read the Order in its entirety on the Documents page of this website under Court Documents heading.

If you do nothing, you will not get any payment from this Settlement and, you will not be able to sue State Auto for the claims resolved in this Action.

The Class Notice summarizes the Proposed Settlement. More details are provided in the Agreement. If you have questions or if you want to request a copy of the Class Notice or Agreement, call 1-855-662-0007 or visit the Documents page on this website.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE JUDGE OR HIS STAFF, OR STATE AUTO OR DEFENDANT’S COUNSEL FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT.