Diminished Value Law Oregon
Been in a wreck in Oregon? You may qualify for Diminished Value. Oregon has some of the best consumer laws in the country when it comes to recovering Diminished Value. The state of Oregon has case law pertaining to Diminunition of Value as early as the 1930s.
In Oregon, normally someone else has to be at fault. This is called a 3rd party diminished value claim. But, Oregon also allows for recovery of your loss of value from your own insurance company if you were a victim of a Hit and Run where the at-fault driver was not found, or the at-fault party was uninsured or underinsured. To qualify for a claim against your own insurance company in this situation, you must have “uninsured/underinsured Property Damage Coverage” in your policy. In Oregon, Uninsured Personal injury coverage is mandatory, but does not include Property Damage Coverage. This is an additional coverage you must have purchased prior to the loss.
Previous Diminished Value Case Law in Oregon.
Oregon is so recognized for diminished value due to the long history of dimished value law in Oregon. The State of Oregon has recognized diminished value since 1930, whereas in the case of Rossier v. OR. Mutual Fire Insurance Company 134 an Oregon court determined that the proper measure of recoverable loss under the policy was the difference between the vehicle’s preaccident and post-accident market value. Be aware, that “market value is not always “retail value”. Other Landmark cases pertaining to Diminution in Value in the State of Oregon include, Dunmire Motor Company v. Oregon Mutual Fire Insurance Company 166 OR. 690, 114 P.2d 1005 (1941) where the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the insured was entitled to the difference between the pre and post-loss value of the vehicle and even proper repairs of the car may not accomplish this result.; Then again, in 2006 in the case of Gonzales v. Farmers Ins. Co. of Oregon, et al., No. A128598 (2006), (Court Opinion) the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed and held that, under the terms of Gonzales’ policy, Farmers Insurance was obligated must restore Gonzales’ vehicle to its pre-loss condition or, if unable to do so, pay the insured the difference in the repaired vehicle’s fair market value Pre-loss and Post-repaired.
Other Oregon Laws pertaining to Claims filed for Diminished Value Oregon:
ORS 746.110 False, deceptive or misleading statements.
ORS 746.280 Designation of particular motor vehicle repair shop by insurer prohibited.
ORS 746.287 Insurer requirement of installation of aftermarket crash part in vehicle.
ORS 746.289 Insurer offer of crash part warranty.
ORS 746.292 Motor vehicle repair shops; invoices; estimates; warranties; prohibited practices.
OAR 836-080-0240 Standards for Prompt and Fair Settlements — Automobile Insurance.
Statutes of Limitations for filing for Diminished Value in the state of Oregon is 6 years from the date of loss. Even if you’ve already settled for injury and damage to your vehicle, you may still be able to claim your loss resale value in Oregon for up to 6 years. We previously had a client who settled a claim on their Toyota Camry with State Farm for over $3000.00, 77% of the appraised Loss in which the claim was 5 years and 11 months old. This was settled within 2 weeks of filing the appraisal with State Farm without any legal aid from an attorney.
How does ORS 20.080 Affect your Oregon Diminished Value Claim and your recovery of your loss of value?
ORS. 20.080 is an Oregon Statute that applies to Small Claims, not just insurance claims as out of state companies claim. They say this because they really don’t know. They’re not here in Oregon, and they only copy what some of the other DV Companies write. ORS. 20.080 pertains to any demand under $10,000.00, which most Diminished Value insurance claims fall under. If the defendant fails to provide a high enough “best offer” within 30 days of the demand, the claimant can also recover attorney fees if they prevail by one cent over the best offer. Attorney fees can easily be not only as much as the claim itself, but could also be thousands more. This Ordinance does tend to motivate insurance companies to settle quickly and for a reasonable amount when
The Ordinance was designed to stop large companies such as Insurance companies from taking advantage of consumers. Large companies normally have in house attorneys and consumers had to pay out of pocket attorney fees, even if they prevailed. Oregon found this as a great injustice and inacted ORS. 20.080 to reduce the number of suites large corporations and insurance companies were pushing to court, just because they could bully the consumer, knowing even if the consumer won, the prevailing party was still on the hook for attorney fees.
Due to ORS.20.080, most insurance companies are eager to provide a significant “best offer” when a demand accompanied by a credible Diminished Value Appraisal.
To find out more about Oregon Diminished Value, please follow this link to our FAQ page, Diminished Value FAQs
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