State Farm’s records reflect that you submitted a claim to State Farm for a covered loss to a dwelling or other structure in Ohio under a State Farm structural damage insurance policy, based on a loss occurring on or after April 22, 2015 through approximately August 2017, for which you either (i) received an actual cash value ("ACV") payment on which depreciation may have been applied to estimated labor and other non-material costs, or (ii) did not receive a payment but did receive a State Farm estimate for the costs of the damage repair on which depreciation may have been applied to estimated labor and other non-material costs.

The Court authorized the notice because you have a right to know of a settlement that has been reached in a lawsuit covering these claims. As part of the settlement, the Court has allowed, or “certified,” the case to proceed as a class action that may affect your rights. You should know that you have the right to submit a claim for payment as part of the settlement and about all your options regarding this settlement before the Court decides whether to give “Final Approval” to the settlement.  If the Court approves the parties’ Stipulation of Settlement (“Settlement Agreement”), and if any appeals are resolved in favor of the settlement, then payments will be made to those who qualify and timely submit a valid claim.  The notice explains the lawsuit, the settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who may be eligible for benefits, and how to get them.

The Honorable Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as The Condominiums at Northpointe Association, et al. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., Case No. 1:16-cv-01273.

This lawsuit is about whether State Farm breached its Ohio insurance policies by applying depreciation to the estimated costs of labor and other non-material costs in calculating ACV payments. Plaintiffs contend that such depreciation resulted in Plaintiff and the Class being underpaid and was a breach of the insurance contracts.

State Farm denies that its conduct breached the insurance contracts. State Farm contends that many policyholders received everything they were entitled to under their policy, including through payments for replacement cost benefits.

In a class action, one or more people called “Class Representatives” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” Here, two of the Plaintiffs who sued in the lawsuit are the Class Representatives. The person or entity they sue (in this case, State Farm) is called the Defendant. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members. The Court has appointed the lawyers for the Class Representatives (referred to as “Class Counsel,” whose names and contact information are provided in response to FAQ 18) to represent the Class and has appointed two of the Plaintiffs to serve as Class Representatives.

The Court has not decided the merits of this case in favor of either the Plaintiffs or State Farm, and has not found that State Farm did anything wrong. Instead, both sides agreed to settle. That way, the parties avoid the cost of a trial and potentially an appeal, and the people who qualify will get compensation. The Class Representatives and their attorneys think the settlement is best for all Class members. The settlement does not mean that State Farm did anything wrong. No trial has occurred, and the Court has not yet ruled on Plaintiffs’ claims or State Farm’s defenses.

This settlement covers a Class of State Farm insureds who, according to Plaintiffs’ allegations, were underpaid because State Farm calculated ACV payments by applying depreciation to estimated labor and other non-material costs.

The settlement “Class,” consists of:

All persons and entities insured under a State Farm structural damage policy who: (1) made a structural damage claim for property located in the State of Ohio with a date of loss on or after April 22, 2015; and (2) received an actual cash value (“ACV”) payment on that claim from which estimated Non-Material Depreciation was withheld from the policyholder, or who would have received an ACV payment but for the withholding of estimated Non-Material Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible.

If you are a member of the Class, you will automatically be included unless you take affirmative steps to exclude yourself.  Both current and former State Farm insureds can be part of this lawsuit.

Excluded from the Class are: (1) all claims arising under policies (including endorsements, e.g., endorsement form FE-3650) expressly permitting the “depreciation” of “labor” within the text of the policy; (2) any claims in which State Farm’s claim payments exhausted the applicable limits of insurance as shown on the declarations page; (3) State Farm and its affiliates, officers, and directors; (4) members of the judiciary and their staff to whom this Action is assigned; and (5) Class Counsel.

The Notice has been mailed to all people who are potentially eligible to receive money under the settlement, but it may also reach some people who are not in the Class. This series of questions may help you determine if you are a Class Member. Please consider all of the questions in order: 

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Class, you may call the following toll-free number 1-844-798-0747 with questions. If you remain uncertain, you could have submitted a properly completed claim form before the claim submission deadline of August 24, 2023. The deadline has passed.

Please do not call State Farm or your State Farm agent to discuss this lawsuit. You may, however, continue to call State Farm or your State Farm agent regarding any other insurance matters.

Class Members who fully completed a Claim Form (“Claimants”) and timely mailed it to the proper address or uploaded it to this website may be eligible for payment. State Farm has agreed, subject to the exceptions set out in response to FAQ 6 and State Farm’s right to challenge or reduce the amount owed (as set forth further below), to pay Claimants the following:

1. Group A:  Settlement Claimants with Homeowners Policies Who Previously Received ACV Payments And Did Not Receive Full RCBs.  The Claim Settlement Payments to Claimants who (i) submitted insurance claims under a State Farm Homeowners Policy (specifically, forms FP-7955, FP-7954, FP-7956, or FP-7933), (ii) received an ACV payment from which estimated Non-Material Depreciation was initially deducted, and (iii) did not subsequently recover all available depreciation through payments of replacement cost benefits (“RCBs”), will be equal to 100% of the estimated Non-Material Depreciation that was initially deducted from the ACV payment and was not yet recovered through payments of RCBs, plus 50% of the estimated General Contractor Overhead and Profit Depreciation (if any) that was initially deducted from the ACV payment and was not yet recovered through payments of RCBs, plus simple interest at 3.5% on those additional amounts to be paid from the date of the initial ACV payment through the date of Final Approval.
2. Group B:  Settlement Claimants with Homeowners Policies Who Previously Received Full RCBs After Initially Receiving an ACV Payment. The Claim Settlement Payments to Claimants who (i) submitted insurance claims under a State Farm Homeowners Policy (specifically, forms FP-7955, FP-7954, FP-7956, or FP-7933), (ii) received an ACV payment from which estimated Non-Material Depreciation was initially deducted, and (iii) subsequently recovered all available depreciation through payments of RCBs will be equal to simple interest at 3.5% on the amount of estimated Non-Material Depreciation initially applied but subsequently recovered, plus simple interest at 3.5% on 50% of the estimated General Contractor Overhead and Profit Depreciation (if any) that was initially applied but subsequently recovered, calculated from the date of the initial ACV payment through the final replacement cost payment.
3. Group C:  Settlement Claimants with Homeowners Policies Who Would Have Received an ACV Payment But For Application of Non-Material Depreciation. The Claim Settlement Payments to Claimants who (i) submitted insurance claims under a State Farm Homeowners Policy (specifically, forms FP-7955, FP-7954, FP-7956, or FP-7933), and (ii) did not receive an ACV payment due to the application of estimated Non-Material Depreciation, shall be equal to 100% of the portion of the estimated Non-Material Depreciation that the Settlement Class Member did not receive as an ACV payment solely because the application of Non-Material Depreciation caused the calculated ACV figure to drop below the applicable deductible, plus simple interest at 3.5% on those amounts to be paid from the date of the initial ACV payment through the date of Final Approval.
4. Group D: Settlement Claimants with Non-Homeowners Policies. The Claim Settlement Payments to Claimants who fit within the Class Definition but who submitted insurance claims under a State Farm structural damage policy other than a State Farm Homeowners Policy (specifically, policies other than forms FP-7955, FP-7954, FP-7956, or FP-7933), shall be equal to 50% of the amount that would otherwise be calculated above in Groups A, B, and C if the Claimant had submitted a claim under a State Farm Homeowners Policy.

Each category of payment set forth in 1, 2, 3 and 4 above is subject to State Farm’s right to challenge or reduce the amount owed on the basis that (i) the Claimant is not a Class Member; (ii) the non-interest portion of the payment would exceed the applicable limit of liability under the Class Member’s Policy; or (iii) the Non-Material Depreciation portion of the payment was already recovered through replacement cost benefits payments, as explained in the Settlement Agreement. 

If you have more than one loss during the Class Period of April 22, 2015 through approximately August 2017, you will need to submit a separate claim form for each loss. State Farm’s rights, and additional terms and explanation regarding how the payments are to be calculated, are set forth in the Settlement Agreement, which can be viewed at, or downloaded from the Important Documents page on this website. 

To ask for a payment, you needed to complete a claim form truthfully, accurately, and completely, to the best of your ability. The claim form also needed to be signed and submitted or timely postmarked by August 24, 2023. The deadline to submit a claim has passed.

The Court granted “Final Approval” of the settlement on July 25, 2023. Payments will be mailed to eligible Class Members who submitted timely and valid claims after the claims administration process is completed. The claims administration process can take time, so please be patient.

If you submit a claim form but do not qualify for a payment, you will be notified of that determination.
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Unless you excluded yourself, you are staying in the Class, and that means that you can’t sue or be part of any other lawsuit against State Farm over the legal claims in this case. It also means that all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.

If you submit a Claim Form, or simply stay in the Class and do not exclude yourself (see FAQ 13-15 regarding “Excluding Yourself from the Class”), you will agree to “release and discharge” all “Released Persons” of all “Released Claims.” You may view a full copy of the Settlement Agreement at the Important Documents page, which provides more information.

Here is the definition of “Released Claims” and “Released Persons” in the Settlement:

“Released Claims” means and includes any and all past, present and future claims arising from or in any way related to depreciation of any kind on claims within the class period (including, but not limited to, calculation, deduction, determination, inclusion, modification, omission, and/or withholding of depreciation), whether known or unknown, and that were asserted or could have been asserted in the Action to the full extent of res judicata protection. This release is not intended to prevent an individual Class Member from seeking and potentially recovering any RCBs that may still remain available under the terms of his or her Policy.  Additionally, Released Claims do not include any claim for enforcement of this Stipulation of Settlement and/or the Final Order and Judgment.

“Released Persons” means, individually and collectively, (i) State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, and all of its past and present divisions, parent entities, associated entities, affiliates, partners, and subsidiaries; and (ii) all past and present officers, directors, shareholders, agents, attorneys, employees, stockholders, successors, assigns, independent contractors, and legal representatives of the entities set forth in (i). The Released Claims extend only to claims arising under insurance policies issued by the Defendant.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was June 24, 2023 and has passed.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you give up any right to sue State Farm for the claims that this settlement resolves. You needed to exclude yourself from this Class to sue State Farm over the claims resolved by this settlement. The exclusion deadline was June 24, 2023 and has passed.

No. If you excluded yourself, you should not submit a Claim Form to ask for a payment as it will be rejected.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was June 24, 2023 and has passed.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the settlement.  You can object only if you stay in the Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Class or the settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you. If you object, and the Court approves the settlement anyway, you will still be legally bound by the result.

The Court appointed the lawyers for Plaintiff and the additional class representatives in this case to represent the Class (“Class Counsel”). Those lawyers are Erik D. Peterson of ERIK PERSON LAW OFFICES, PSC; James A. DeRoche of GARSON JOHNSON LLC; Patrick J. Perotti and James S. Timmerberg of DWORKEN & BERNSTEIN CO., L.P.A.; and R. Eric Kennedy and Daniel P. Goetz of WEISMAN, KENNEDY & BERRIS CO., L.P.A.:

The Court determined that these attorneys are qualified to represent the interests of the Class in this lawsuit. More information about their firms, their practices, and their lawyers’ experience is available on the firm websites.

You may if you want, but you do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel represent the Class of which you may be a member. For example, you can hire a lawyer to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you. If you hire your own lawyer, you will be responsible for the charges that lawyer requires you to pay for representing you.

If you choose to remain in this lawsuit, you will not be required to pay attorneys’ fees or expenses to Class Counsel out of your own pocket. As part of the Settlement, Class Counsel will ask the Court for their attorneys’ fees and expenses to be paid in addition to the monetary benefits obtained for the Class. Class Counsel will ask the Court for up to $4,004,000 for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, and will ask the Court to award the Class Representatives $7,500 for their efforts in prosecuting this litigation (“Service Awards”). State Farm has agreed not to oppose Class Counsel’s request for their fees, costs and expenses, and the Service Awards to the Class Representatives up to these amounts.  The Court may award Class Counsel and the Class Representatives less than the amounts they request.  State Farm will separately pay Class Counsel’s fees, costs and expenses, and Class Representatives’ Service Awards that the Court orders. These payments will not reduce the amount distributed to Class Members. State Farm will also separately pay the costs to send notice and to administer the Settlement.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, on July 25, 2023 at the United States Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. At this hearing, the Court considered whether the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there were any objections, the Court considered them at that time. After the hearing, the Court decided to approve the settlement.

No, Class Counsel answered any questions that the Court may have had.  If you wished to attend the hearing, or wished to present your objections to the Settlement, you could have come at your own expense.  You could have also paid your own lawyer to attend, but it was not necessary, unless you chose to have a lawyer appear on your behalf to object to the settlement.

If you submitted a proper written objection to the settlement, you or your lawyer acting on your behalf could have spoken at the Final Approval Hearing.  You could not speak at the Hearing if you excluded yourself from the settlement.

If you do not submit a settlement claim, you’ll get no payment from this settlement even if you qualify for one. But, unless you excluded yourself from the settlement, you won’t be able to individually sue State Farm for the claims in this case.

The notice summarizes the settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can visit the Important Documents page where you will find the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order, a copy of the Settlement Agreement, a copy of the Notice, the Claim Form, the Plaintiff’s Complaint, and State Farm’s Answer to the Complaint. You may also contact the Settlement Administrator at 1-844-798-0747.

Please do not call State Farm or your State Farm agent to discuss this lawsuit. You may, however, continue to call State Farm or your State Farm agent regarding any other insurance matters.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE JUDGE OR CLERK OF THE COURT WITH QUESTIONS.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE YOUR STATE FARM AGENT WITH QUESTIONS.
DIRECT ALL INQUIRIES TO CLASS COUNSEL OR AN ATTORNEY OF YOUR OWN CHOOSING.

By Order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio