Judge Tosses Class Action Against State Farm Over Personal Injury Claims

State Farm Personal Injury Claims Class Action Lawsuit Overview

• Why: A federal judge ruled the complaint did not supply enough evidence to prove State Farm’s wrongdoing in its handling of personal injury protection claims.
• Who: Policyholders lost their case against State Farm.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

State Farm policyholders have lost their class action case that claimed the insurance giant failed to respond to Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims within 30 days. 

U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. ruled that the plaintiffs ultimately failed to prove that State Farm violated any liability laws. 

The dismissal comes after the plaintiffs submitted an amended complaint after the judge ruled they needed more evidence that State Farm violated any terms or laws. However, the amended complaint fell short with only “modest modifications” and “sprinkled citations,” which was not enough for Judge Dow. 

Judge Finds Plaintiffs’ Complaint Lacking in Proof

The lead plaintiffs, Mark Anderson, Laverne Gallant and Cynthia Oliver, are Michigan residents who held auto insurance policies with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The class action lawsuit took issue with State Farm’s allegedly slow reaction times in 13 states: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah. 

In these states, State Farm, as a PIP insurer, is required to pay or deny all or part of a claim in writing or request additional information in writing within 30 days after receiving a claim. The plaintiffs alleged that after they submitted PIP claims, all they received was a letter from State Farm stating that their claims were under investigation and that they would be notified of further action. 

The complaint argues that these letters gave State Farm an “open-ended window” in which to make their coverage determinations in order to skirt the 30-day state laws. 

Complainants Failed To Provide Further Context, Information, Evidence To Court, Judge Says

However, the complainants failed to provide further context, information and evidence to the court. Judge Dow noted that the complaint never said whether State Farm had all the information it needed to judge the claims at the time it sent the letters. Nor did the complaint address the length of time State Farm takes to make its final determinations, which is central to their argument, according to Judge Dow. 

Judge Dow also disagreed with the argument that the delays in personal injury coverage determinations diminished claimants policies’ value.

“None of the [policyholders] alleges to ever have submitted a claim for PIP benefits, nor is any member of the proposed class alleged to have requested PIP benefits from State Farm and suffered the alleged ‘unreasonable delay’ that forms the basis of the complaint,” Judge Dow said. 

Have you experienced issues with filing personal injury claims? Share your story in the comments section below!

The plaintiffs are represented by Antonio Romanucci and David Neiman of Romanucci &

Blandin LLC and Adrienne W. Brown Chan.

The State Farm Personal Injury Claims Class Action Lawsuit is Abraham, et al. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., Case No. 1:19-cv-03028, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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