In Rakich v. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 10th Dist. No. 06AP-1067, 2007-Ohio-3739 the 10th District Court of Appeals held, in a 3-0 decision, that Plaintiffs may recover for the diminished value to their car after repair.
The Rakich Court noted that the traditional measure of property damage was either the cost of repair or the difference in value between the time immediately before and after the damage, but not both. Rakich argued that while she had been compensated for the cost of repairs, she still had not been made whole. The Court’s ruling followed the common-sense argument that a wrecked-and-repaired car is not worth as much as a car that has never been wrecked, and held that this difference in market value is a compensable damage. The Rakich Court found that allowing recovery for diminished value was consistent with the standard measure of damages in a tort case: the amount which makes the plaintiff whole. Therefore, the Court permitted Rakich to recover for diminished value if she could show that the repairs were insufficient to restore her car to its pre-crash value.
Court Gives OK to Argue for Vehicle’s Diminished Value After an Accident
Business First of Columbus / August 10, 2007
Court Says Insurer Must Pay for Car’s Diminished Value
Columbus Dispatch / August 17, 2007
Ruling Could Mean More Insurance Money for Those in Car Accidents
Ohio.Com, official website of the Akron Beacon Journal / August 25, 2007
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