Case Study: Class Certification 

DGS represents Farmers Insurance Exchange in two pending class action lawsuits challenging the marketing and pricing of uninsured and underinsured coverage in Colorado and the handling of UM/UIM claims in Colorado.  Both class action lawsuits are based on the Colorado Supreme Court opinion in DeHerrera v. Sentry Ins. Co., 30 P.3d 167 (Colo. 2001)  which, departing from prior appellate court decisions, held that UM/UIM insurance coverage was personal to the insured.  Based upon the opinion in DeHerrera, an appellate court later held, in Jaimes v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 53 P.3d 743 (Colo.App. 2002), that vehicle-based exclusions for UM/UIM coverage were against public policy and void.  In one of the pending class action cases, DGS successfully defeated certification of a class that claimed they were improperly denied coverage pursuant to void vehicle-based exclusions.