Recently, the Texas legislature enacted a law that abolishes the Small Claims Court in Texas. There are a few articles on the web about it, but for the most part, nobody noticed! After researching the subject matter (thanks to Hal Monk), I found the amended rules.
Okay guys listen, it is possible to file a diminished value claim against your own insurance company.
In Texas, there are still some courts that will hear a case under the collision portion of your policy, and there is at least one case in Dallas where the trial court agreed that diminished value was part of the damage calculation that should be used under the collision portion of a policy.
If I had a nickel . . . .
Okay, so you have run into a brick wall and can’t get justice served, right? If you live in Texas, if justice means recovering money from somebody or company that owes you $10000.00 or less, then you can probably force the issue to a head by doing a little research on the Small Claims court rules. They are located in the Texas Government Code, Chapter 28. The rules of battle are clear and simple enough for most to understand with just a little research.
Here are some general tips:
I agree that insurance companies are not so inclined to pay diminished value, and people sometimes get dollar signs in their eyes when they are involved in an accident that is not their fault. The reality is that diminished value exists, but it is definitely hard to prove. There are arguments that adjusters use all the time to try and dismiss a valid claim and save a few bucks. The problem is that most of the “diminished value experts” out there have never actually been adjusters. Through a little research of my own, I have found that at least four of the companies that heavily advertise diminished value services have never even had an adjuster’s license, much less actual experience adjusting.