Allstate Beats Class Certification in Stigmatized Property Suit

A pair of Georgia homeowners couldn’t convince a federal judge Tuesday that their breach of contract lawsuit against Allstate Indemnity Co. should be certified as a class action.

Barbara and Benny Morrow claim that Allstate failed to assess their property for diminished fair market value due to stigma despite the company paying to repair two instances of loss: structural damage caused by a nearby explosion, and an outbreak of mold following water damage.

But the proposed class’s various individual claims would be too factually dissimilar to uniformly resolve, Judge Hugh Lawson said for the U.S. District Court for the Middle ...