State Farm customers in Washington whose cars were repaired after an accident, with the bill paid under underinsured motorist property damage coverage, have until Dec. 14 to claim diminished-value money from a settlement fund of up to $8.8 million. The losses covered run from Jan. 13, 2019, through Feb. 27, 2026.
The case is Hardy v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. State Farm denies the allegations. A claim form is required, and the fund pays only people with a valid one.
What diminished value means in this case
Diminished value is the drop in a car’s worth after it has been in a crash, even when the repair is done well. The plaintiffs claim that when certain vehicles sustain structural and body damage, they cannot be fully repaired to their pre-accident condition, which leaves the owner with a car worth less than before.
The settlement covers insureds who received underinsured motorist property damage payments, known as UMPD, which pay for a policyholder’s car when the at-fault driver has too little or no coverage. Anyone paid under that coverage for a covered loss may be a class member.
State Farm will pay up to $8,822,039.83 into the settlement fund, the administrator says. That money has to cover diminished-value payments to class members with a valid claim, class counsel fees, service awards and costs. State Farm pays notice and administration costs separately.
Who is in the class, and who is out
The administrator’s site defines the class as all Washington insureds of State Farm Mutual who received UMPD payments for losses in the date range and meet other requirements, which are explained in the FAQ.
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The Open Class Actions summary lists the details. The policy must be Washington-issued, the repair estimates including supplements must total at least $1,000, and the car must have been no more than six years old and under 90,000 miles at the time of the accident. The damage must have involved structural or frame damage, deformed sheet metal, or body or paint work.
Left out are leased vehicles, total losses, and claims limited to glass, tires or a sound system. Someone with two or more qualifying accidents has to file a separate claim for each, according to the summary.
How the payment is figured
The fund is built from a formula. According to the summary, it is the number of class-list claims times $800, minus a $3,757,160.17 credit for diminished value State Farm already paid, and it is capped at $8,822,039.83.
Attorneys’ fees of up to $1,890,584.96, costs of up to $10,000 and service awards of up to $10,000 for each of the two class representatives come out first. The rest is split pro rata by each claimant’s UMPD repair payment, so a larger repair bill yields a larger share.
The summary puts the average payment at about $625, an estimate that depends on repair cost and the number of valid claims. A prior accident halves the formula amount, diminished value State Farm already paid is subtracted, and any comparative fault percentage applied to the original UMPD payment applies here too. If valid claims exceed the fund, all payments are reduced pro rata.
Filing by Dec. 14
The claim form can be submitted online no later than Dec. 14, 2026, or on paper postmarked by that date. The online claim form opens with a login that asks for the Class Member ID printed on the mailed notice.
No receipts, estimates or photos are needed, according to the summary. Claimants answer three sworn yes or no questions, sign and submit. Paper forms go to Hardy v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., in care of Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391.
The administrator’s documents page posts the settlement agreement, the order certifying the class, the class notice and the claim form. The deadline for asking to be excluded or for objecting passed on Sept. 30. Questions go to the administrator at (833) 930-0261.
What happens at the October hearing
The court has set a final settlement hearing for Oct. 30, 2026, though the administrator warns the date and time may change. The summary says it is set for 11 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Seattle before Judge Ricardo S. Martinez.
No payment date has been announced. The summary says checks are valid for 180 days, and uncashed checks are forfeited to State Farm, with no cy pres recipient to receive the leftover money.
A claim filed now still depends on the judge approving the deal. Filing before the hearing does not change a payment, but it removes the chance of missing Dec. 14 while waiting to see how the hearing goes.
Class counsel are the Law Offices of Stephen M. Hansen, P.S., and the Law Office of Scott P. Nealey, with Kroll Settlement Administration as administrator. A family that paid for a repair in the last seven years has reason to dig out the claim letter and the Class Member ID now.
Was the State Farm repair one of the covered ones?
The cost of a mistake here is a payment that never arrives. A leased car, a total loss, a repair under $1,000 or a missed Dec. 14 date each leave a claim with nothing, and a second accident needs its own claim.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System explains the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice, so the exclusion date, the hearing date and the claim date do not run together. It also includes a step-by-step filing walkthrough, plus a claim log and payment tracker for each accident.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
