Scott v. Safeco

A court authorized a Class Notice because you have a right to know about the Proposed Settlement of this class action, including the right to claim money, and about your options regarding this Settlement, before the Court decides whether to give "Final Approval" to the Settlement. If the Court approves the Parties’ Class Action Stipulation of Settlement Agreement ("Agreement"), and if any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement, then payments will be made to those who qualify and timely submit a valid Claim Form. This Class Notice explains this Action, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who may be eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri is overseeing this class action. The case is known as Shaunda Scott v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, No. 24SL-CC07051. The person who sued is called the "Plaintiff," and the company it sued is called the "Defendant."

To view a copy of the Class Notice, click here.

The lawsuit claims that Defendant improperly deducted Nonmaterial Depreciation when adjusting some Missouri Structural Loss claims under Missouri property insurance policies.

Defendant has denied all allegations that it acted wrongfully or unlawfully.

In a class action, the person called the "Representative Plaintiff" (in this case, Shaunda Scott) sues on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people are "Class Members." One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court did not finally decide all issues in the case. By settling, the Parties avoid the cost of a trial and potentially an appeal, and the people who qualify will get compensation. The Representative Plaintiff and its attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Class Members. The Settlement does not mean that Safeco did anything wrong, no trial has occurred, and no merits determinations have been made.

If you received the Class Notice, then you have been identified as someone who is possibly a Class Member. The Settlement Class includes the following:

All Class Members who between June 5, 2012 and October 31, 2022: (1) were issued personal lines (not commercial) property policies in Missouri by Safeco Insurance Company of America; (2) made a Structural Loss claim under Coverage A or Coverage B of the Class Member’s policy; (3) a Symbility and/or Xactimate estimate was used in determination of the payment; and, (4) from which Nonmaterial Depreciation was withheld, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible.

"ACV Payment" is calculated by estimating the replacement cost value of the covered damage for a Structural Loss claim and subtracting the estimated Depreciation, including Nonmaterial Depreciation, and any applicable deductible.

"Nonmaterial Depreciation" means Depreciation of labor costs, overhead and profit, and/or other non-material items included within Xactimate® estimating software and/or Symbility estimating software, and specifically includes Depreciation resulting from the application of either the "depreciate removal," "depreciate non-material" and/or "depreciate O&P" depreciation option settings or similar settings in the estimating software.

"Structural Loss" means physical damage to a home, building, manufactured home, condo, rental dwelling, or other structure located in the State of Missouri while covered by a homeowners residential, manufactured home, condo, dwelling, or rental property insurance policy issued by Safeco.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are:

1. policyholders whose claims arose under policy forms, endorsements, or riders expressly permitting the Nonmaterial Depreciation within the text of the policy form, endorsement or rider, i.e., by express use of the words "depreciation" and "labor;"
2. policyholders who received one or more ACV Payments for a claim that exhausted the applicable limits of insurance;
3. policyholders whose claims were denied or abandoned without an ACV Payment for any reason other than that the ACV payment was not made solely because the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation caused the loss to drop below the applicable deductible;
4. policyholders where no Xactimate and/or Symbility estimate was generated by Safeco;
5. Safeco and its officers and directors;
6. members of the judiciary and their staff to whom this Action is assigned and their immediate families; and
7. Class Counsel and their immediate families (collectively, "Exclusions").

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you may call the toll-free number 1-888-850-9506.

Under the Settlement, Defendant has agreed to pay Class Members as follows:

(a) Subject to the terms, limits, conditions, coverage limits, and deductibles of policies, Claim Settlement Payments for members of the Settlement Class shall be equal to 90% of the Nonmaterial Depreciation that was withheld from ACV Payments and not subsequently paid, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible, determined as described herein, plus simple interest of 5% from the first day of January of the year when the loss was reported through December 31, 2024;

(b) For Class Members identified under subsection (a) for whom all Nonmaterial Depreciation that was withheld from ACV Payments was subsequently paid, payment shall be according to the below schedule:

To find out whether you are eligible for a payment, you must complete and return a truthful and accurate Claim Form. A copy of the Claim Form accompanied the Class Notice and can be downloaded here. If you do not submit a Claim Form, you will not receive payment and will be bound by the terms of the settlement.

To return your Claim Form, you can either mail your Claim Form or upload your Claim Form here before midnight Central Daylight Time on July 7, 2025.

If you want to mail your completed Claim Form, your Claim Form must be postmarked no later than July 7, 2025, and mailed to the following address:

Scott v. Safeco Administrator
P.O. Box 2050
Portland, OR 97208-2050

You may also obtain an additional Claim Form by calling the Administrator at 1-888-850-9506. If you sign a Claim Form as a representative of a Class Member you must also submit written proof that you are a Legally Authorized Representative.

If the Court grants “Final Approval” of the Settlement, and if any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement, then payment will be mailed to eligible Class Members after the claims administration process is completed. This process can take time, so please be patient.

Unless you exclude yourself, you are staying in the Settlement Class, and that means that you cannot sue Safeco and the Released Persons over the claims settled in this Action. It also means that all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.

If you submit a Claim Form, or simply stay in the Settlement Class, you will agree to release all “Released Persons” of all “Released Claims.” “Released Persons” and “Released Claims” are defined in the Agreement, which you can request a copy of by calling 1-888-850-9506, or you can view the Agreement here.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a letter to the Administrator requesting to be excluded from the Settlement of Shaunda Scott v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, No. 24SL-CC07051. Your letter must include: your full name, address, and be signed.

You must mail your request for exclusion postmarked by April 21, 2025, to:

Scott v. Safeco Administrator
P.O. Box 2050
Portland, OR 97208-2050

More instructions are in the Agreement available here. You cannot exclude yourself by phone or on the Settlement Website. The right to exclude yourself from the Proposed Settlement must be exercised individually, not as a member of a group and, except for a deceased or incapacitated Class Member, not by another person acting or purporting to act in a representative capacity. If you request exclusion as the representative of a Class Member, you must also submit written proof that you are the Legally Authorized Representative.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue Safeco for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to sue Safeco over the claims resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive a payment from this Settlement.

The Court appointed the following law firms to represent you and other Class Members as “Class Counsel”:

You do not have to pay Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, and potentially have that lawyer appear in court for you in this case, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for up to $3,395,000 for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of their expenses and will ask the Court to award the Representative Plaintiff up to $7,500 for representing the Settlement Class. Defendant has agreed not to oppose the request for fees and expenses up to the above referenced amounts. The Court may award less than the above amounts. Defendant will separately pay the fees and expenses the Court orders. These payments will not reduce the amount distributed to Class Members. Defendant will also separately pay the costs to administer the Settlement.

If you do not want the Court to approve the Settlement you must file a written objection in the case with the Clerk of the Court and mail a copy to the Administrator by the deadline noted below. You must include: (i) the name of the case (Shaunda Scott v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America); (ii) case number (No. 24SL-CC07051); (iii) your full name and address, (iv) the specific reasons why you object to the Settlement; and (v) whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing in person or through counsel. If you have a lawyer file an objection for you, he or she must follow all local rules, and you must list the attorney’s name, address, bar number, and telephone number in the written objection filed with the Court and mailed to the Administrator.

If you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing to object to the Settlement, you must also: (i) file with the Clerk of the Court a notice of intention to appear at the Final Approval Hearing by April 21, 2025; and (ii) mail copies of the notice to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel, postmarked by April 21, 2025. The notice must include copies of any papers, exhibits, or other evidence that you plan to present to the Court in connection with the Final Approval Hearing.

You or your lawyer may appear at the Final Approval Hearing if you have filed a written objection as provided above. The right to object to the Proposed Settlement must be exercised individually by an individual Class Member, not as a member of a group or subclass and, except in the case of a deceased or incapacitated Class Member, not by the act of another person acting or purporting to act in a representative capacity. If you file an objection as the representative of a Class Member, you must also submit written proof that you are a Legally Authorized Representative.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class or the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object, because the case no longer affects you. If you object, and the Court approves the Settlement anyway, you will be legally bound by the result.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing at 8:30 a.m. on May 21, 2025, at the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Division 1, located at 105 S. Central Avenue, Clayton, MO 63105. Check this website to make sure that the location of the Final Approval Hearing has not changed, that the Final Approval Hearing has not been rescheduled, and to see whether the Court has scheduled the Final Approval Hearing to proceed via video conference or teleconference, instead of in person.

At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court may listen to people who have asked to speak about an objection. The Court may also decide how much to award Class Counsel for fees and expenses for representing the Settlement Class and whether and how much to award the Representative Plaintiff for representing the Settlement Class. At or after the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. It is not known how long this decision will take.

You are not required to attend. If you wish to attend the Final Approval Hearing, you may come at your own expense. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary, unless you choose to have a lawyer appear on your behalf to object to the Settlement.

If you submitted a proper and timely written objection to the Settlement, you or your lawyer acting on your behalf may speak at the Final Approval Hearing. You cannot speak at the Final Approval Hearing if you exclude yourself.

If you do nothing, you will not get any payment from this Settlement. But, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to sue Safeco for the claims resolved in this Action.

The Class Notice summarizes the Proposed Settlement. More details are provided in the Agreement here. If you have questions or if you want to request a copy of the Agreement call 1-888-850-9506.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE JUDGE OR HIS STAFF, OR SAFECO OR SAFECO’S COUNSEL FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT.