Class Action Claim Denial, Suit Dismissal, Summary Judgment: 3 Allstate Victories

The New Mexico state trial court in Truong v. Allstate ruled in favor of Allstate Insurance Company, dis­missing the class action claim chal­lenging Allstate’s use of Colossus, a software program used as a tool to evaluate bodily injury general dam­ages, which is part of a larger claim handling program, Claim Core Process Redesign (CCPR).  The court ruled that the superintendent expressly permitted Allstate’s use of Colossus, applied the statutory exemption to New Mexico’s Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA), and dismissed the plaintiffs’ UTPA class claim.

In another victory for Allstate, the District Court in Tulsa, Oklahoma, granted summary judgment for Allstate in Milroy v. Allstate Ins. Co. on plaintiff’s abuse-of-process, bad faith, and breach of contract claims, and dismissed the lawsuit.

In a third Allstate victory in April 2005, Judge Eikelberry in Tucson, Arizona, granted summary judg­ment for Allstate on all claims in a vigorously contested homeown­ers’ lawsuit: Tritschler v. Allstate Insurance Company.  Plaintiff’s attorneys launched an institutional attack on the homeowners’ side of Allstate’s claim department, chal­lenged several corporate policies and programs, demanded more than $1,000,000, and sought puni­tive damages.  After an hour-and-a-half hearing, the trial judge ruled from the bench, granted summary judgment on all remaining claims against Allstate, and vacated the trial.