If you received a letter (called a “Notice”), and the enclosed blue Claim Form, the records of SFF&CC show that you were an insured who received payment under your UMPD coverage for property damage to your insured automobile for an accident occurring between March 23, 2012 and February 13, 2024, and who meets certain other requirements (set forth in Question 5).

The class action suit has been pending since March 23, 2018.  It has now been resolved for up to $2,091,200.00.  If the Settlement is approved, you may be eligible for benefits that will be provided as part of the proposed Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.  If you wish to receive money from or comment upon (including stating any objection to the Settlement) you must do so following the procedures described below.  If you do nothing, you will not receive any money but will bound by the Settlement terms and any final judgment.

The Court in charge of the case is the Pierce County Superior Court, state of Washington, and the case is known as Sanith v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., Case No. 18-2-06616-1.  The person who brought this suit is called the Plaintiff.

This page is only a summary of the Settlement.  You can read Settlement Agreement by visiting the Important Documents page.

In the lawsuit, Plaintiff claims that when certain automobiles sustain damage to their structural systems and  bodies, they cannot be fully repaired to their pre-accident condition, causing the vehicles to suffer a loss in value called “diminished value.”  Plaintiff alleges that SFF&CC failed to pay or pay adequately for this type of loss under its Washington insurance policies’ UMPD coverage, and that such an alleged failure to pay is a breach of SFF&CC’s automobile insurance contracts.  SFF&CC denies that it did anything wrong and contends that it paid the full and appropriate amounts for diminished value, where applicable, as part of its regular claim adjusting process.

In a class action, one person, the Class Representative, sues on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people are part of a “Class.”  One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who have previously excluded themselves from the Class. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff is presiding over this class action.

After this matter was filed, and proceeded in Court for five years, both sides agreed to a Settlement, which, if approved, brings the litigation to an end. That way, Plaintiff and SFF&CC avoid the further cost, delay, and uncertainty of moving forward in litigation to trial and possible appeals, and the Class Members may get payments. The Class Representative and his attorneys think the Settlement is best for the Class Members.

You may be eligible to receive money from this Settlement if you are a Class Member and you submit a valid claim form. 

You are a member of the Class if you are a SFF&CC insured, and your insured vehicle’s repairs were covered under the UMPD provision of a policy issued in Washington; and

1. the repair estimate on the vehicle (including any supplements) totaled at least $1,000; and
2. the vehicle was no more than six years old (model year plus five years) and had less than 90,000 miles on it at the time of the accident; and
3. the vehicle suffered structural (frame) damage and/or deformed sheet metal and/or required body or paint work.

You are not a member of the Class if (a) your claim involved a leased vehicle, or your vehicle was declared a total loss, or (b) the accident did not occur between March 23, 2012 and February 13, 2024.

Each Class Member who submits a valid claim form and qualifies for a payment will receive a payment  that will depend on his or her vehicle repair costs. Here’s how it works: each Class Member is entitled to request a payment. For Class Members who qualify for a payment, that payment will be calculated as the portion of the Settlement Fund paid to Class Members (i.e., $2,091,200.00 minus attorneys’ fees and costs and the service award to the Class Representative) multiplied by the result of dividing the Class Member’s repair cost by the aggregate value of all Class Members’ repair costs. The average payment for qualified Class Members will likely be in the range of $550 per Class Member, depending on how much, if any, payment for diminished value the Class Member has already received. You can only receive your share of the Settlement if you submit a valid Claim Form by November 12, 2024.

To qualify for payment, you must be an eligible Class Member (see Question 5) and submit a valid  Claim Form.  The Claim Form, which is blue in two pages, is enclosed with the Notice.  Read the instructions carefully and, if you wish to make a claim, fill out the Claim Form, sign it, and submit it online, or by mail postmarked by November 12, 2024.  If you had two (or more) qualifying accidents, you will receive a Claim Form for each, and will, if you wish to assert a claim for each, need to submit a Claim Form for each qualifying accident.

You may also visit the File a Claim page, which includes instructions for filling out and submitting your Claim Form online.

The Court will hold a hearing on September 27, 2024, to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, and there are no appeals, we estimate that checks will be mailed around second half of 2025. You will get your payment after all appeals have been concluded and the Settlement is approved with no further appeals possible.

We will provide regular updates on the status of the Settlement on this website. Please be patient.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was August 28, 2024, and has passed.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you give up any right to sue SFF&CC for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You needed to exclude yourself from this Class to sue SFF&CC over the claims resolved by this Settlement. Remember, the exclusion deadline was August 28, 2024, and has passed.

No. If you excluded yourself, you should not submit a Claim Form to ask for a payment, as it will be rejected.

Yes. The Court has decided that the attorneys bringing this suit are qualified to represent you and all Class  Members. Together these lawyers are called “Class Counsel.” They are experienced in handling similar cases against other insurers. Class Counsel appointed by the Court are Stephen M. Hansen and Scott P. Nealey. They can be reached to answer any questions you may have at 253-302-5955 or 415-231-5311 respectively. You will not be charged for contacting these lawyers. 

Your lawyers’ fees and costs will be determined by the Court and subtracted from the Settlement. Other than that, you will not be charged for these lawyers’ work in securing the Settlement benefits for you and the other Class Members. You owe nothing if you participate in the Settlement. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for an award of their attorneys’ fees up to 30% of the Settlement Fund, together with reimbursement of their costs according to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Since even before filing this lawsuit, Class Counsel have worked on this case, but have not received any money for that work. The attorneys’ fees and costs, as awarded by the Court, shall be paid from the Settlement Fund. In addition, Class Counsel will apply to the Court for a service award of $10,000.00 for the Class Representative Mr. Sanith, also to be paid from the Settlement Fund. This service award is being requested in recognition of the time, effort, and risk incurred by the Class Representative in securing this Settlement for you and the other Class Members.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was August 28, 2024, and has passed.

The Court will hold a Final Settlement Hearing at 9:00 a.m. on September 27, 2024, at the Pierce County  Superior Court, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, WA 98402. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. Judge Bryan Chushcoff will, if the requisite notice of intent to appear and speak is filed, listen to anyone at the hearing who asks to speak, and if objections were timely served, he will consider them. The Court will also decide how much to pay Class Counsel and the Class Representative. The Final Settlement Hearing may be postponed without further notice to the Class.

No. Counsel will answer questions the Judge may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send a comment (including an objection), you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. If you mail it on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it’s not necessary.

You could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Final Settlement Hearing. Your Notice of Intention to Appear must have been postmarked by August 28, 2024. You cannot speak at the hearing if you previously opted out of the Class, because the case no longer affects you.

If you do nothing, you will get no money from this Settlement, and you will be bound by the terms of the Settlement, including the release of claims. To receive a payment, you must submit a valid Claim Form.

This page summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can view and print a copy of the Settlement Agreement, Notice, and other information about the lawsuit by visiting the Important Documents page. You may also visit the File a Claim page, which includes instructions for filling out and submitting your Claim Form online.

Please do not call the Court, the Court clerk’s office, or State Farm Fire & Casualty Company or its lawyers to inquire about this Settlement. They will be unable to help you.