Denver, Colorado (August 9, 2017) – On July 28, 2017, Janette L. Ferguson, of Lewis Bess Williams & Weese P.C., won a significant victory on behalf of Farmers Insurance Exchange and Mid-Century Insurance Company in a class action lawsuit that has been pending for 14 years. The case began in 2003 as a single class action against all major Colorado auto insurance carriers. The Plaintiffs alleged that that they were fraudulently induced into purchasing unnecessary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage because the insurance companies did not inform them of a 2001 Colorado Supreme Court case that broadened the scope of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. In 2006, the single class action was separated into numerous class actions against the different insurance carriers. The proposed class in the Farmers/Mid-Century action included over 250,000 Colorado residents and involved over $65 million in potential damages.
Janette L. Ferguson, along with Thomas P. Johnson and Jennifer S. Allen of Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP, participated in a week-long evidentiary hearing before Boulder District Court Judge, Norma A. Sierra. In her 27-page order denying class certification, Judge Sierra found that Farmers did not intentionally conceal information from its customers and that many customers would have continued to purchase the insurance even if informed of the Supreme Court decision.
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