USAA must face a potential class action suit accusing the carrier of failing to pay the full actual cash value (ACV) of totaled vehicles, a federal judge in Mississippi has ruled.

In denying USAA’s motion for summary judgment, US District Chief Judge Sharion Aycock found that some of the language on which the plaintiffs’ claims were based was ambiguous, but noted that case law favors the plaintiffs in such cases.

‘When ambiguity exists in an insurance policy, the policy is to be interpreted in favor of the insured,’ Aycock wrote in her July 27 order. ‘The court notes that interpreting an insurance policy is a question of law.’

In an amended class action complaint filed October 6, 2020, plaintiff Bronson Thompson alleged that USAA had breached its contract by failing to pay him the full ACV for his 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab after it was totaled in a crash on December 19, 2017.

Thompson said USAA determined the adjusted value of the GMC as $26,548.29, and added on sales tax of $1,327.41, and title fees of $10. That settlement did not include $15 in license or registration costs, $14 in license or registration costs, the applicable ad valorem tax component of license fees, and dealer fees, the complaint alleges.