Price Waicukauski & Riley, LLC has filed a class action lawsuit against State Farm on behalf of all State Farm insured that had their hail damage claims denied.

On April 14, 2006, many Indiana homes were damaged by a violent hail storm. In the aftermath of the storm, State Farm denied over 7,000 hail damage claims that were submitted pursuant to the State Farm Homeowners’ Policy. The class has alleged that State Farm had no reasonable, objective standard to quantify or even identify hail damage. According to the Complaint, determining whether a particular home was damaged by hail was left to the whim of the claims adjustor. Without any reasonable, objective standard, State Farm was able to justify any result it desired (often to the detriment of its own insured). 

On February 6, 2009, Judge Lawrence in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana certified the action as a class action. However, on March 29, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed his decision and ordered that he decertify the class. The Court of Appeals has held that State Farm’s customers may only bring their own claims for breach of contract and bad faith. The class action lawyers at Price Waicukauski & Riley intend to appeal that decision to the United States Supreme Court. 

The Court of Appeals’ decision means that you only have a limited time to file a claim against State Farm for hail damage your roof sustained in the April 14, 2006 hailstorm. You should seek legal counsel immediately if you wish to explore pursuing a breach of contract or bad faith claim against State Farm. 

Date filed: March 1, 2007
Court: United States District Court
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana 

If you have questions about how you can protect your rights, please contact our Indiana-based class action lawyers at (317) 633-8787.