Jessica Clippinger v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co.

── Jessica Clippinger v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 24, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0122p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ JESSICA CLIPPINGER, nka Jessica Pyron, on behalf of │ herself and all others similarly situated, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, > No. 24-5421 │ │ v. │ │ STATE FARM AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘ On Petition for Rehearing En Banc United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee at Memphis. No. 2:20-cv-02482—Thomas L. Parker, District Judge. Argued En Banc: March 18, 2026 Decided and Filed: April 24, 2026 Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; MOORE, CLAY, GIBBONS, GRIFFIN, KETHLEDGE, THAPAR, BUSH, LARSEN, NALBANDIAN, READLER, MURPHY, DAVIS, MATHIS, BLOOMEKATZ, RITZ, and HERMANDORFER, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED EN BANC: Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP, Los Angeles, California, for Appellant. Jacob L. Phillips, JACOBSON PHILLIPS PLLC, Winter Park, Florida, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., Bradley J. Hamburger, Daniel R. Adler, Matt Aidan Getz, GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP, Los Angeles, California, Jeffrey B. Wall, Judson O. Littleton, SULLIVAN & CROMWELL LLP, Washington, D.C., Christopher L. Vescovo, LEWIS THOMASON, Memphis, Tennessee, Peter W. Herzog III, WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL LLP, St. Louis, Missouri, Eric L. Robertson, WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL LLP, Denver, Colorado, for Appellant. Jacob L. Phillips, JACOBSON PHILLIPS PLLC, Winter Park, Florida, Hank Bates, Lee Lowther, CARNEY BATES & PULLIAM, PLLC, Little Rock, Arkansas for Appellee. Adam G. Unikowsky, JENNER & BLOCK LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae.  No. 24-5421 Clippinger v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co. Page 2 MURPHY, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which SUTTON, C.J., and GRIFFIN, KETHLEDGE, THAPAR, BUSH, LARSEN, NALBANDIAN, READLER, and HERMANDORFER, JJ., concurred. BUSH, J. (pp. 22–31), delivered a separate concurring opinion. GIBBONS, J. (pp. 31–46), delivered a separate dissenting opinion in which MOORE, CLAY, DAVIS, MATHIS, BLOOMEKATZ, and RITZ, JJ., concurred. _________________ OPINION _________________ MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Class-action suits brought against automobile insurers in many courts from around the country have asked the same question. Suppose an insurer promises to pay the “actual cash value” of an insured’s vehicle if the vehicle gets destroyed in an accident. Suppose further that the insurer uses the same formula to calculate actual cash value. If car owners believe that this general formula includes an improper reduction, may they pursue a class action? Five circuit courts have now said “no” because individual issues about the unique value of each used car will dominate all other matters. See Ambrosio v. Progressive Preferred Ins. Co., 154 F.4th 1107, 1110–13 (9th Cir.