Auto body shop owners intuitively know that customers with damaged vehicles often do not receive full compensation for the total value of the car. What many shop owners do not know is that there is strong case law history here in Connecticut that supports a diminished value claim.
This case law very clearly explains that evidence of basic repairs does not put the car in the same condition or value as before the accident. An excerpt is provided below. To view the full case, click here.
Littlejohn v. Elionsky 130 Conn. 541
Successful Connecticut Supreme Court Diminished Value Case
“The measure of damages is the difference in value between the property before and after the loss, with interest from date of loss….[T]he defendant offered evidence that the car could be and was restored to a sound or good state. This falls short of a claim that the repairs had put the car in substantially the same condition as before the collision. For example, a new car may be badly damaged and be repaired so as to put it in a sound or good state, and yet be worth much less than before the collision.”