OVER $6K AWARDED FOR DIMINISHED VALUE IN L.A. COUNTY JUDGMENT

May 1, 2025California Diminished Value, California Small Claims Court, Diminished Value, Small Claims, Winning!

Our customer was tenacious and it paid off with a diminished value judgment!

Sometimes after helping a customer, the satisfaction is quite delayed due to the timing of the process. Our customer Mark from California reached out after an auto accident in L.A. County for help appraising his diminished value on his 2022 Volvo XC90. His claim came in right around $7500 so he purchased an appraisal and made his demand.

After getting a full denial from Kemper Insurance, he wasted no time in filing a suit in the Superior Court of California – County of Los Angeles to recoup his damages. To support his appraisal, Justin testified remotely as to the diminished value damages. We got word from the owner that he won his case recently and has finally wrapped up his collection efforts. Read his update below after my check-in!

“I ended up getting everything I was owed.

Thanks to Justin, I got the full judgment in small claims court. The insurance company paid out the max for the policy of the defendant, which was only about half of the judgement. Then I had the DMV intervene to force payment from the defendant. He paid me via a payment plan that completed last month.

I’m still astonished it all went my way. I’m so grateful to you both!”

If you need help with your diminished value, loss of use or total loss, reach out and we can help you too!

Has Attorney Montie Day Changed California Diminished Value Law?

January 13, 2016California Diminished Value, California Small Claims Court, Diminished Value, Insurance Claim Denial, Insurance Claims, Uninsured Motorist

In the small world of automobile claims, there’s new buzz surrounding California Diminished Value law and the recent changes in California Jury Instructions regarding property damage to automobiles.

The changes came in response to one attorney’s relentless pursuit of justice. Attorney Montie S. Day refused to sit idly by when he realized California insurance carriers and their adjusters were using language in official jury instructions to try and make accident victims believe they could not legally recover lost value damages.  Specifically, we’re talking about inherent lost market value to automobiles, or as it is more commonly known, diminished value or simply DV.  Market surveys and sales prove that damaged and repaired vehicles are generally less desirable (thus, less valuable) on the resale market than identical vehicles that have never been damaged and repaired.

What’s interesting here is that big changes are expected, yet there is no new California Diminished Value law.  What the insightful Mr. Day attacked was not improper law (jury instructions are not law, and the law in California already recognized the right of a victim to recover inherent lost value aka diminished value).  Instead he realized insurance carriers were using language in the jury instructions to mislead accident victims and imply that the law in California would not allow recovery of inherent diminished value, so he attacked and exposed that unfair and misleading tactic.

California Diminished Value Claims

January 20, 2014Auto Accident, California Diminished Value, California Small Claims Court, Diminished Value, Insurance Claims, Small Claims

California diminished value

California Diminished Value Claims :

What You Need To Know

Throughout the country, individuals are realizing that they have a right to recover the inherent lost market value (diminished value) that occurs after a vehicle has been wrecked and repaired.

UPDATED JAN. 2016

There are only two states where case law does not support recovery of diminished value in a negligence cause of action.  California is not one of those states.  New case law in California is clear that it IS possible to recover for the diminished value of your vehicle if you are able to prove your loss. (more…)