This notice explains that the Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court concludes the case and decides whether the claims against Progressive, on behalf of Class Members, are correct. Judge Timothy P. Connors of the Michigan 22nd Circuit Court for the County of Washtenaw is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Perry, et al. v. Progressive Michigan Ins. Co., et al., Case No. 2022-971-CK .

This lawsuit alleges that Progressive breached its contracts (auto insurance policies) with its insureds by failing to pay them sales tax, a certificate of title fee, and a vehicle registration transfer fee as part of the actual cash values of their insured vehicles it determined to be total losses.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “Class Representatives” (in this case, Plaintiffs Angela Perry and Michael Peterson) sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” The person who sued is called the Plaintiff. The company they sued (in this case, Progressive) is called the Defendant. One court decides the issues for everyone in the Class – except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.

The Class Includes:

The Progressive Michigan Class includes:

All people insured by Progressive Michigan Insurance Company (“Progressive Michigan”) and whose insurance covers a vehicle with private-passenger physical damage coverage for comprehensive or collision loss who made a first party claim that was adjusted by Progressive Michigan as a total loss and who received an actual cash value payment from Progressive Michigan that did not include sales tax, a certificate of title fee, and/or a vehicle registration transfer fee, from July 18, 2016, until March 1, 2023.

The Progressive Marathon Class includes:

All people insured by Progressive Marathon Insurance Company (“Progressive Marathon”) and whose insurance covers a vehicle with private-passenger physical damage coverage for comprehensive or collision loss who made a first party claim that was adjusted by Progressive Marathon as a total loss and who received an actual cash value payment from Progressive Marathon that did not include sales tax, a certificate of title fee, and/or a vehicle registration transfer fee, from January 7, 2023, until March 1, 2023.

The Court decided that this lawsuit can proceed as a class action because it meets the requirements of Michigan Civil Rule 3.501, which governs class actions in Michigan state courts.

More information about why the Court is allowing this lawsuit to proceed as a class action is in the Court’s Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification which is also available on the Court Documents page of this website.

Plaintiff alleges that Progressive breached its auto insurance policies with its insureds by failing to pay them sales tax, a certificate of title fee, and a vehicle registration transfer fee as part of the actual cash values of their vehicles it determined to be total losses. You can read Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint which is also available on the Court Documents page of this website.

Progressive denies any wrongdoing and denies the Plaintiff’s’ allegations. More specifically, Progressive argues that neither its policies nor Michigan law requires it pay sales tax, a certificate of title fee, a vehicle registration transfer fee, and/or dealer documentary preparation fee as part of the actual cash value of an insured vehicle that it determined to be a total loss and that it properly paid its insureds for vehicles it determined to be total losses under its auto insurance policies. You can read Answer to Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint which is also available on the Court Documents page of this website.

The Court hasn’t decided whether Progressive or Plaintiffs are correct. By establishing the Class and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that Plaintiffs will win or lose this case. Plaintiffs must still prove the claims in the litigation, including at a trial, if necessary.

The Plaintiff seeks to recover for Class Members the sales tax, certificate of title fee, and vehicle registration transfer fee that it did not pay them on their total loss physical damage claims.

No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not yet made a final decision whether Progressive did anything wrong, and the two sides have not settled the case. There is no guarantee that money or benefits ever will be obtained. If they are, you will be notified about how to ask for a share.

You don’t have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit. By doing nothing, you are staying in the Class. If you stay in and the Class is awarded money or benefits, either as a result of a judgment or a settlement, you will be notified about how to apply for a share (or how to ask to be excluded from any settlement).

Keep in mind that if you do nothing now, regardless of whether the Class Representative wins or loses the case, you will not be able to separately sue, or continue to sue, Progressive – as part of any other lawsuit – for the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. You will also be legally bound by all the Orders the Court issues and judgments the Court makes in this class action.

You would ask to be excluded if you want to bring your own separate lawsuit against Progressive. If you exclude yourself from the Class – which is sometimes called “opting out” of the Class – you won’t get any money or benefits from this lawsuit even if the Plaintiff obtains them as a result of a judgment or from any settlement (that may or may not be reached) between Progressive and the Plaintiff. However, you may then be able to separately sue or continue to sue Progressive for the legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s orders and judgments in this class action.

If you bring your own lawsuit against Progressive after you exclude yourself, you will have to hire and pay your own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you will have to prove your claims. If you do exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against Progressive, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims may be subject to a deadline for filing a lawsuit.

To exclude yourself from the Class, you must send a written request for exclusion postmarked by June 21, 2023, to:

Your request for exclusion must contain: (1) the name of this lawsuit, “ Perry, et al. v. Progressive Michigan Insurance Co., et al., Case No. 2022-971-CK ”; (2) the date; (3) your full name; (4) your current address; (5) a clear statement of your intention to exclude yourself, such as “I wish to be excluded from the Class”; and (6) your signature. You may also get an Exclusion Request which is also available on the Opt Out page of this website.

IMPORTANT: Regardless of whether you stay in the lawsuit or exclude yourself from the Class, your contractual rights under any current insurance policy with Progressive will not be affected

Yes. The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” for Class Members who decide to stay in the case:

If you choose to remain in the Class, you do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel are working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you will be responsible for paying that lawyer. You can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

If Class Counsel obtain money or benefits for the Class, they may ask the Court for fees and expenses. You will not have to pay these fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsel’s request, the fees and expenses would be either deducted from any money obtained for the Class or paid separately by Progressive.

As long as the case isn’t resolved by a settlement or otherwise, Class Counsel will have to prove the Class’s claims in this litigation, including at a trial if necessary. During the trial, a Jury or the Judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether Plaintiffs or Progressive are right about the claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiff will win, or that he will get any money for the Class. The Court has not yet decided whether a trial will be necessary.

If there is a trial, you do not need to attend. Class Counsel will present the case for the Class Members, and Progressive will present its defenses. You are welcome to come at your own expense. If you wish to participate in any trial, you should contact Class Counsel.

If the Class obtains money or benefits as a result of a judgment or settlement, you will be notified about how to participate. We do not know how long this will take.

Visit the website, at www.UbillusPerryTotalLossClassAction.com, where you will find more information, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions, the Court’s Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification, Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint, Progressive’s Answer to Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint, the Court’s Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Disposition , and an Exclusion Request Form.

You may also contact Class Counsel by email at info@UbillusPerryTotalLossClassAction.com, or by writing to: Ubillus Perry Total Loss Class Action, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173063, Milwaukee, WI 53217.