Mark Adams and Kathy Adams v. Cameron…

Summary

The court answered a certified question from federal court by holding that an insurer may not depreciate labor costs when calculating the actual cash value of a covered loss under an indemnity policy that does not define actual cash value. The court found the term ambiguous because both materials-only and materials-and-labor depreciation were reasonable interpretations, and construed the policy in favor of the insured. Justice Hart concurred in the result but would have avoided defining actual cash value beyond answering the certified question and would not have relied on a dissent from another state court.