Standing, Valuation, And Certification: Key Takeaways From The Sixth Circuit’s En Banc Decision

Introduction

On April 24, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided Clippinger v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co., 173 F.4th 817. By a vote of 10-7, the court ruled that an insurance dispute about the valuation of totaled cars cannot proceed as a class action. This decision evinces a skepticism of creative forms of mathematical proof and sheds light on how the Sixth Circuit views the intersection of class action law and standing doctrine. 

Facts

The plaintiffs were State Farm vehicle insurance policyholders whose vehicles suffered a “total loss,” meaning that State Farm determined that the cost of repairing the car would exceed the cost of replacing it. Clippinger v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No. 220CV02482TLPCGC, 2023 WL 7213796, at *1 (W.D. Tenn. Aug. 25, 2023). Under their insurance policies, State Farm compensated the plaintiffs by paying them the “actual cash value” (ACV) of their vehicle, the allowed calculation methods of which were governed by