Tag Archives: Insurance

We won $10,000 in Small Claims Court for Diminished Value and $8,115 in Superior Court in Van Nuys, CA

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Yes! we won in Small Claims Court Civil Division Department P in Van Nuys, CA for the “Diminished Value”, in the amount of $10,000 plus court cost on March 12, 2019.

How did we do it?

Back in January I got a call from my client to write a “Diminished Value” report for his 2012 BMW 328i that had been rear ended when at a stop light by another driver.

I asked for the Estimate of Repair document to see the cost of repairs and it turned out to be over $17,000 in damages. I started to write the “Diminished Value” report that can be used in a court of law.

When I finished the “Diminished Value” report I sent it along with instructions on how to proceed.

First, my client had to send a Demand Letter to the Insurance Company of the driver that hit his car.  As expected, my client got a letter back from the Insurance Company that the claim was denied and the CA law does not have any such thing as “Diminished Value”.

Second, my client followed my instructions I sent him and filed a Small Claims law suit against the owner of the car that hit him and then got a court date to stand before a Judge.

On the day of trial I was with my client (Plaintiff) and we went inside the court room.  The owner of the car (Defendant) that hit my client’s car was in court with his Insurance Adjuster and we were asked to go outside and try to arbitrate.

The defendant’s insurance refused to arbitrate so we remained inside the court room to stand before the Judge.

The Plaintiff was called and he and I stood before the Judge. He told the Judge his Expert was with him and would like for me to speak about the “Diminished Value” and the Judge allowed me to speak.

First, the Plaintiff spoke about the accident and how it happened; he also stated the other driver admitted fault.

Now the Defendant’s Insurance Adjuster spoke and said, “Your Honor, he accepted the car’s repairs and he was satisfied and if he has any complaints he should return to the shop that did the repairs.” Then he also stated we had to prove loss of value and later when I spoke I did.

The Defendant reminded the Judge he was not in the court about the repairs but about the loss of money when reselling or trading the car in. The Judge asked me to explain the report and the formula I use to show “Diminished Value”. After I finished explaining the report and my findings and how I come to the loss of value which was far more than he can ask for which was over $17,000.

The Judge had another question for me, how to show structural damage.  I explained with a very simple and easy to understand of how this was, with that the Judge said, “One side here today will not like my judgement but it is final.”

After five days my client called me with excitement; we won the “Diminished Value” case for the full amount of $10,165.  This is the maximum allowable damage he can ask for plus court cost in a small claims court of law in CA.

I have been writing “Diminished Value” reports for law firms in NV and CA going on 8 years now, but mostly in superior court for attorneys.  This was my first small claims case on my own and we won that all my client was allowed to ask for.

If you have been in a car accident not your fault you are entitled to get “Diminished Value” and you can get it; it takes a little time but worth every minute you spend on.

You can contact me by way of e-mail and I will be willing to help you as well. Don’t let the Insurance Adjuster make you back down with their lies, telling you it is not allowed or you don’t have a claim because your car is fixed, that is a cover in hope you will back down and they win. Help is here and here to stay.

Feel free to contact me anytime because you can WIN in small claims court for “Diminished Value”. This case can be verified.  Tell a friend and get paid what is owed to you.

Thank you,

Jackie Winters

Lemon Protection

Diminished Value Against the Home or Vehicles Insurance Companies

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I had a case a few years back and a man’s three vehicle were burned caused by the neighbor’s house fire and the repairs were several thousand dollars to fix.

The Insurance told him he was not entitled to get paid for his Diminished Value and he should just go fix his cars or junk them they did not care about his loss.

His attorney had a different story, he was entitled to get Diminished value for his loss.

His attorney contacted me and ask me to inspect each vehicle and find the Diminished Value and I agreed.

I went to the home of this customer and did an inspection on each vehicle and all were repairable with some needing new glass and paint and rubber seal that had been damage by the fire.

I turned in all there reports with my finding and loss of value to the attorney who called me, he also ask me to be the expert witness for the loss of value in a court of law and I agreed.

On the day of trial when on the witness stand I was asked to explain each vehicle loss and what the loss of value was to the Jury. The total loss was several thousand dollars for the three vehicle. The Jury awarded loss of value on all three vehicle with all 12 jurors agreeing he was entitled to that loss of value, he won based on my three reports hand down.

The Diminished Value will apply to all vehicle damages by another person insurance no matter if it was caused by a house fire as these there were or in a car accident not your fault.

The California law 3903J under Jurors Instruction passed in 2016 make this apply to all loss of value claims no matter how the loss happened. The laws in other stated provided  show Diminished Value is recoverable and is in almost all stated in America.

As a certified appraiser and writer of Diminished Value report for over 14 years. I know the laws and know how to write the report for that loss and can back up all report I have written with a solid foundation showing proof.

If you have a loss of value caused by another person fault you are entitled to get that loss of value no matter how small it is.

If you were in an accident not your fault you are entitled to get that loss after the vehicle has been repaired because no person or shop can repair a vehicle back to factory condition, in many inspection I have always found damaged parts I could photograph and or feel when driving. So go after that loss and remember we pay for Insurance to protect us and pay any loss to the other party when in an accident.

Pass this story on and tell a friend.

Thank you,

Jackie Winters

Lemon Protection

lemonprotection@yahpoo.com

BEWARE of signing a “RELESE OF LIBILITY” agreement, it may cost you dearly.

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Back in 2010 I was in a rear end accident by a woman who was Texting, she was running  30 mph not paying attention as she should and cause me to get badly hurt. She hit me frame on frame and I took the full impact, the frame bent and cracked at the point of impact. I was hurt with vertebra fracture and bulging and compressed disk, I took treatment and all was without success in removing the pain. I walk with a level 5 dull pains in my lower and center back and at times the pain shoots up to a level 9/10 where I am forced to take heavy medication with severe side effects that last for several days including severe bleeding. My Doctors all said I will have to live with it, the damages have healed but the pain has stayed and continues to cause me problems. My quality of life has diminished considerably.
My attorney called me to sign some document and told me to always read the document so I can be clear of the understanding. I read the full document the INS Co sent him for me to sign and to my amazement it was all lies. The first lie was the INS Co acted in “Good Faith”, all lies. The fact is they all but accused me of causing the accident, they made it seem like she was not at fault; they said I was not hurt and the damages are minor and the list goes on and on.
I refused to sign the document of lies and now am going to trial for my loss. I want you to know if you get in an accident you are entitled to good treatment and if the treatment is over the limit the driver has, then you can go to trial if the INS Co make Bad Faith offers and ask for General Damages or Punitive Damages and you will likely get it.
Also you are entitled to the loss of value for your vehicle it is called

 “INHERENT DIMINISHED VALUE”

this is the money you are entitled to get but will lose when you sell the repaired vehicle at close to a 50% loss of value. This is recoverable as long as you have a report proving it. I write those kinds of reports and it will be used in my trial in December if trial goes as set forth.
BEWARE when you’re in an accident and ask to sign a “Release of Liability” written by the INS Co. don’t sign it because it can and will be used against you in any future cases. If your attorney tells you to sign don’t because he cares nothing about you, it is the fast money he will get for settling this case, and you still lose. Get an attorney willing to go all the way to trial; if need be to get your needs meat. Remember if you sign that Insurance Company produced “Release of Liability” document and then try and fight it, you can go to jail for signing a document that you knew was a lie because before you signed it.

Again you lose and the Insurance company sit’s back and laugh at you for being a fool by signing. They say it is standard release of liability but what they don’t tell you is it is a trap in-case you ever file against them in another clam.
Lemon protection specializes in writing “Inherent Diminished Value” reports and they have been used in several trials successfully. Good Luck and GOD bless you and  all comments are welcome.

Thank you for reading my post and tell a friend.