SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cutter Law P.C. announces it has reached a settlement in litigation filed against State Farm. The settlement involves allegations that California policyholders who made a claim for personal property for actual cash value and were not paid their limit may not have received proper compensation for their property. Such policyholders are eligible to have their claim reviewed and may be entitled to financial compensation.

The State Farm Property Settlement involves policyholders who filed a claim for personal property from December 31, 2004, through May 19, 2014, for cash who were not paid their policy limit. A full class trial against State Farm resulted in the court finding that the insurer used illegal tactics when calculating depreciation on personal property losses where insured claimants opted to receive cash for items they did not replace.

The court found that State Farm's practice of ignoring an item's actual condition and using only the item's age when calculating depreciation was a violation of California law. For example, if the policyholder had two identical couches bought at the same time but one that was used daily for five years while the other was used once or twice, State Farm's depreciation practice would compensate the policyholder the exact same amount for both couches, with no regard for the actual condition.

Furthermore, the court found that State Farm must provide policyholders with an explanation of how depreciation is calculated.

"We were very pleased that the court agreed with us," said Brooks Cutter, of Cutter Law P.C., co-lead counsel in the State Farm class action lawsuit. "This is an important case because going forward State Farm has to take the condition of the property into account and has to be transparent about how they're depreciating property. This not only affects State Farm, it affects other insurance companies doing business in California."

Policyholders affected by State Farm's actions could be eligible to receive financial compensation plus five percent interest. All policyholders who filed a claim in the class period should fill out and return the postcard mailed to them even if they were happy with their compensation because they may not realize they could be entitled to additional compensation. Policyholders cannot be penalized in any way for being part of the settlement.

"Claimants might not understand their rights or know they were underpaid," Cutter says. "Everyone should fill out a postcard to have their claim re-evaluated. There is no drawback to filling out the postcard to be part of the settlement."

For more information on the State Farm Property Settlement or to fill out a postcard to be part of the settlement, visit the website here: http://www.statefarmpersonalpropertysettlement.com

Cutter Law P.C. is a Sacramento and Oakland law firm that specializes in personal injury, product liability, insurance, and employment lawsuits in individual, group, and class action claims. Our attorneys have been involved in litigation against medical device makers, insurance companies, social media companies, and many other organizations. For more information about Cutter Law or our attorneys or practice areas visit www.cutterlaw.com

Contact Information:

Brooks Cutter
916 290 9400
[email protected]

SOURCE Cutter Law

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