About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

102 B.U. L. Rev. 1649 (2022)
Inherent Diminished Value in Motor Vehicle Torts

handle is hein.journals/bulr102 and id is 1683 raw text is: NOTES INHERENT DIMINISHED VALUE IN MOTOR VEHICLE TORTS Ross Chapman* ABSTRACT Motor vehicles lose value after accidents, even when they subsequently are competently and completely repaired. Previously damaged vehicles have a stigma surrounding them stemming from a fear that repairs cannot restore a vehicle to its exact pre-accident condition. The loss in value caused by this phenomenon is called inherent diminished value (IDV). Despite widespread expert recognition of IDV, many vehicle owners are not compensated for this loss in value when they recover damages in an insurance settlement or a tort judgment. Even if a vehicle owner knows to request IDV damages, she will face substantial obstacles: her jurisdiction may limit tort recovery to repair costs only, her insurer may argue that IDV does not exist, or her burden of proof may require a costly expert opinion to establish even minor diminution in value. This Note argues that IDV is a real and inevitable consequence of motor vehicle collisions for which plaintiffs must be compensated by defendants and their insurers to be made whole. This Note starts with an exploration of the tort and insurance concepts underlying diminished value claims before surveying the different ways in which the fifty states fashion their measures of damages to include or exclude IDV. This Note then queries what problems must be addressed by an IDV doctrine that compensates but does not overcompensate plaintiffs and provides judicial and legislative suggestions enacting such a system. * J.D., Boston University School of Law, 2022; B.A., Music, Columbia University, 2018. I would like to thank Professor Maria O'Brien for advising me on this Note and Professor Kathryn Zeiler for her additional commentary. I would also like to thank the editors and staff of the Boston University Law Review for their guidance, especially my Note Development Editor, Arielle Sigel. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Sharon and Kevin, and my fiancee, Daniella, for their unwavering love and support. 1649

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most