Editor's Notes: 1) This article has been revised and updated from the initial version to include a statement from State Farm.
2) This case was dismissed on Nov. 5, 2020, for want of prosecution, according to the online docket maintained by the Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court.
A Wilmette couple has signed on to lead a class action against State Farm, asserting the insurer did not pay the full amount of transfer and title fees required by the state of Illinois and many other states when replacing a totaled vehicle following a collision.
On July 8, attorneys Jeffrey A. Berman and Patrick J. Solberg with the firm of Anderson + Wanca, of Rolling Meadows, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Bloomington-based State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The class action was filed on behalf of named plaintiffs Ann and Mark Hollander, of north suburban Wilmette.
The lawsuit seeks to expand the litigation to include a class of potentially “several thousand” additional plaintiffs who the plaintiffs assert have been allegedly shortchanged by State Farm.
“An insured who is promised coverage that pays to ‘replace’ a vehicle that suffers a total loss, including mandatory state fees, pays for such coverage under a policy with the expectation of receiving such protection when the insured suffers the maximum loss (a total loss of the vehicle),” the complaint said.
“Contrary to its legal obligations, and specific representations, (State Farm) does not pay the full amount of applicable mandatory state vehicle fees to its total loss insureds.”
According to the complaint, the Hollanders suffered a total loss to their vehicle from a collision that occurred in 2015. The Hollanders said State Farm agreed to replace the vehicle. However, when they purchased a replacement vehicle, State Farm only paid “a flat sum of $120 for ‘License and Title Fees,’” leaving them to pay an additional $101 charged by the state of Illinois for transfer and title fees.
According to the complaint, these fees are considered to be part of the actual cost of replacing the vehicle. Further, the complaint asserts, Illinois law requires State Farm to pay the full cost of the title and transfer fees.
However, the complaint alleges, State Farm routinely underpays its insureds for such fees when it pays to replace totaled vehicles.
The lawsuit seeks to include, as additional plaintiffs, a class covering everyone who held automobile collision insurance through State Farm and who suffered a total loss, yet “were not paid the full amount of mandatory state fees as part of their total loss claim.”
The complaint asks the court to order State Farm to pay compensatory damages; “restitution for disgorgement of monies wrongfully retained” by State Farm; and attorney fees.
State Farm issued a statement in response to the filing of the complaint: “The filing of a lawsuit does not substantiate the allegations within the complaint. We’ve recently learned about the filing, and it is premature to comment at this time.”