Public Policy Argument Fails for Lack of Evidence of Statute or Judicial
Statement
Barry Zalma
Jan 19, 2024
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/guZ6kXMx and See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gfzZKavH and at https://lnkd.in/gqBTFDuU; and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4700 posts.
Post 4716
Following a car accident, Kenan Watkins (“Watkins”) filed a diminished value claim with his insurer, Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company (“Allstate”). Allstate denied his claim. The district court held that Allstate’s policy did not violate Mississippi law and that Watkins failed to state a plausible claim. Consequently, the district court granted Allstate’s motion to dismiss and Watkins appealed.
In Kenan Watkins, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Company, No. 23-60141, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (January 12, 2024) the Fifth Circuit resolved the dispute.
BACKGROUND
Kimberly Jones (“Jones”) crashed her vehicle into Watkins’ 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe in Baldwyn, Mississippi. Watkins’ vehicle sustained substantial damage. Watkins had an insurance policy with Allstate that provided coverage for his 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. Jones’ insurer, Safeway Insurance Company, paid $24,314.25 to Watkins for his damage claim. Watkins alleged that his car sustained an additional $13,545.00 in diminished value. Safeway Insurance Company offered the remaining $685.75 of Jones’ policy limit to Watkins. Because Jones’ policy limit did not cover the diminished value of Watkins’ vehicle, Watkins filed an uninsured motorist claim with his insurer, Allstate.
Allstate denied Watkins’ diminished value claim, relying upon a provision in its policy that excludes “any decrease in the property’s value, however measured, resulting from the loss and/or repair or replacement.” Watkins sued.
Specifically, Watkins alleged that Allstate’s automobile insurance policies impermissibly deny insurance coverage that is required by law without establishing which law required Allstate to pay for the diminished value of his truck.
The district court concluded that Watkins failed to plausibly allege that Jones’ vehicle was an “uninsured motor vehicle.” The district court also concluded that Allstate’s diminished value exclusion is valid under Mississippi law.
Because Watkins failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted the district court granted Allstate’s motion to dismiss with prejudice. An appeal followed.
DISCUSSION
In his Complaint, Watkins alleged that “[p]ursuant to Miss. Code. Ann. § 83-11-101(2), Kimberly Jones was underinsured, and [that he] is entitled to recover from the uninsured motorist coverage provided by the Policy.”
Watkins’ mere assertions, however, re insufficient to establish that Jones’ vehicle qualified as an “uninsured motor vehicle.” The Complaint only alleges that Jones was underinsured, which is a legal conclusion. No court will accept legal conclusions as true. Thus, the district court correctly concluded that Watkins failed to make a plausible claim for relief because a reasonable inference that Allstate was liable for misconduct could not be drawn from the factual content in the Complaint and legal conclusions alone are never accepted as true.
The Fifth Circuit concluded that Allstate’s diminished value exclusion was valid under Mississippi law.
Watkins claim that the diminished value exclusion violates public policy failed because Watkins did not point to a pronouncement, either legislative or judicial, requiring that diminished value be a part of all automobile insurance policies.
Only an affirmative expression of an overriding public policy by the legislature or judiciary prompts a Court to rule that an insurance policy’s plain meaning does not control. Since neither the legislature nor the judiciary have pronounced that insurers must provide for payment of diminished value in all issued automobile policies the plain meaning of Allstate’s policy controls and Allstate’s diminished value exclusion is valid under Mississippi law.
ZALMA OPINION
Claims for diminished value of a vehicle after an accident were popular ten years ago because auto material damage policies did not deal with the issue. Insurers, like Allstate, recognized it had no intent to cover diminished value of a vehicle after an accident, did not charge a premium for the claim, and eventually wrote a clear and unambiguous exclusion to avoid paying for a loss for which it had not charged a premium. Absent some showing of a public policy requiring that coverage, the exclusion is enforceable.
(c) 2024 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos.
Subscribe to my substack at https://barryzalma.substack.com/publish/post/107007808
Go to Newsbreak.com https://www.newsbreak.com/@c/1653419?s=01
Go to X @bzalma; Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at
; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg;
Go to the Insurance Claims Library – http://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library.
Intentionally Shooting a Woman With A Rifle is Murder
Post 5196
See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog and more than 5150 posts.
You Plead Guilty You Must Accept the Sentence
In Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania v. Mark D. Redfield, No. 20 WDA 2025, No. J-S24010-25, Superior Court of Pennsylvania (September 19, 2025) the appellate court reviewed the case of Mark D. Redfield, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for killing April Dunkle with malice using a rifle.
Affirmation of Sentence:
The sentencing court’s judgment was affirmed, and jurisdiction was relinquished, concluding no abuse of discretion occurred.
Reasonable Inference on Trigger Pulling:
The sentencing court reasonably inferred from the guilty plea facts that the appellant pulled the trigger causing the victim’s death, an inference supported by the record and consistent with the plea.
Guilty Plea Facts:
The appellant admitted during the plea hearing...
The Judicial Proceedings Privilege
Post 5196
Posted on September 25, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at
Judicial Proceeding Privilege Limits Litigation
In David Camp, and Laura Beth Waller v. Professional Employee Services, d/b/a Insurance Branch, and Brendan Cassity, CIVIL No. 24-3568 (RJL), United States District Court, District of Columbia (September 22, 2025) a defamation lawsuit filed by David Camp and Laura Beth Waller against Insurance Branch and Brendon Cassity alleging libel based on statements made in a letter accusing them of mishandling funds and demanding refunds and investigations.
The court examined whether the judicial proceedings privilege applieD to bar the defamation claims.
Case background:
Plaintiffs Camp and Waller, executives of NOSSCR and its Foundation, sued defendants Insurance Branch and Cassity over a letter alleging financial misconduct and demanding refunds and audits. The letter ...
Misrepresentation or Concealment of a Material Fact Supports Rescission
Post 5195
Don’t Lie to Your Insurance Company
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v6zefq8-untrue-application-for-insurance-voids-policy.html and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5150 posts.
In Imani Page v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Company, No. 370765, Court of Appeals of Michigan (September 22, 2025) because defendant successfully established fraud in the procurement, and requested rescission, the Court of Appeals concluded that the Defendant was entitled to rescind the policy and declare it void ab initio.
FACTS
Plaintiff's Application:
Plaintiff applied for an insurance policy with the defendant, indicating that the primary use of her SUV would be for "Pleasure/Personal" purposes.
Misrepresentation:
Plaintiff misrepresented that she would not use the SUV for food delivery, but records show she was compensated for delivering food.
Accident:
Plaintiff's SUV was involved in an accident on August ...
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.
The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
See the full video at and at
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
How Elderly Doctors Fund their ...
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.
The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
See the full video at and at
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
How Elderly Doctors Fund their ...
Barry Zalma: Insurance Claims Expert Witness
Posted on September 3, 2025 by Barry Zalma
The Need for a Claims Handling Expert to Defend or Prove a Tort of Bad Faith Suit
© 2025 Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE
When I finished my three year enlistment in the US Army as a Special Agent of US Army Intelligence in 1967, I sought employment where I could use the investigative skills I learned in the Army. After some searching I was hired as a claims trainee by the Fireman’s Fund American Insurance Company. For five years, while attending law school at night while working full time as an insurance adjuster I became familiar with every aspect of the commercial insurance industry.
On January 2, 1972 I was admitted to the California Bar. I practiced law, specializing in insurance claims, insurance coverage and defense of claims against people insured and defense of insurance companies sued for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. After 45 years as an active lawyer, I asked that my license to practice law be declared inactive ...
