Dorazio v. Allstate Insurance

The Notice explains that the Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you if you are an insured who provided written notice of intent to pursue a UM/UIM claim to Allstate no earlier than December 1, 2019, up through the date of certification of the class, and who (1) was covered by one or more Allstate policies issued in Arizona to the same purchaser covering multiple vehicles at the time of a covered loss and (2) received UM/UIM benefits in an amount equal to the limits of only one of the UM/UIM coverages under the applicable policy or policies.

Judge Krissa M. Lanham of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona is overseeing this lawsuit. The lawsuit is known as Brian Dorazio v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, Case No. CV-23-00017-PHX-KML.

Plaintiffs’ legal claims arise out of how Allstate paid its insureds for uninsured and underinsured (“UM/UIM”) motorist claims.

Plaintiffs contend that Arizona law requires an insurer to (1) include policy language that disavows the possibility of stacking and (2) provide timely written notice to its insureds that they have the right to select one policy or coverage when they are making a UM/UIM claim. If the insurer does not include the required policy language and provide the required notice, insureds making a UM/UIM claim are entitled to recover up to the policy limits for each vehicle insured, that is, “stack” their insurance coverage. Plaintiffs allege Allstate failed to include the required policy language and provide the required notice to class members and was therefore required to stack their insureds’ UM/UIM coverage. Plaintiffs assert legal claims against Allstate for breach of contract and bad faith.

Allstate denies that it did anything wrong. No court or other judicial entity has made any judgment or other determination of any wrongdoing by Allstate, or that any law has been violated.

You can read Allstate’s Answer to the Complaint on the Important Documents page of this website.

In a class action, one or more people (called class representatives) sue on behalf of all people who have similar legal claims. Together, all these people are called a class or class members. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those class members who timely exclude themselves (opt out) from the class.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or Allstate is right. By establishing the class and providing notice, the Court has not decided, and is not suggesting, that Plaintiffs will win or lose this lawsuit. The parties have a chance to prove or disprove their legal claims and/or defenses. The Plaintiffs must prove their legal claims in court.

The Plaintiffs are asking for money for the class members for Allstate’s alleged wrongdoings. The Plaintiffs are also asking for injunctive relief or equitable relief (a legal term that means Plaintiffs are asking Allstate to stop doing the alleged wrongdoings) as decided by the Court, and attorneys’ fees and costs for Class Counsel.

No money or benefits are available now. The Court has not decided whether Allstate did anything wrong, and Plaintiffs and Allstate have not settled the lawsuit. There is no guarantee money or benefits will be obtained in the future. You will be notified if money or benefits become available.

You may be a member of the class if you are an insured who provided written notice of intent to pursue a UM/UIM claim to Allstate no earlier than December 1, 2019, up through the date of certification of the class, who (1) was covered by one or more Allstate policies issued in Arizona to the same purchaser covering multiple vehicles at the time of a covered loss and (2) received UM/UIM benefits in an amount equal to the limits of only one of the UM/UIM coverages under the applicable policy or policies.

Within the class is a subclass, which includes all insureds who received a final denial of stacked UM/UIM coverages no earlier than December 1, 2020, up through the date of the certification of the class, and were covered by one or more Allstate policies issued in Arizona to the same purchaser covering multiple vehicles at the time of a covered loss who received UM/UIM benefits in an amount equal to the limits of only one of the UM/UIM coverages under the applicable policy or policies.

You do not have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit in the future. By doing nothing you are staying in the class and if Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits in the future, you will be notified about how to get your share. If you do nothing now, you will not be able to sue or continue to sue Allstate—as part of any other lawsuit—about the same legal claims in this lawsuit. You will also be legally bound by the orders and judgments.

If you ask to be excluded from this lawsuit and money or benefits are later awarded, you will not receive any money or benefits. If you want to sue Allstate on your own regarding the same legal claims in this lawsuit, or already have your own lawsuit against Allstate regarding the same legal claims in this lawsuit and you want to continue with it, you need to ask to be excluded or removed from the class—this is sometimes called “opting out” of the class.

If you start your own lawsuit or continue with an existing lawsuit against Allstate regarding the same legal claims in this lawsuit after you exclude yourself, you will have to hire your own lawyer(s) for that lawsuit, and you will have to prove your legal claims. If you do exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against Allstate, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your legal claims may be subject to a statute of limitations, meaning that you may face a deadline after which you cannot sue.

To exclude yourself from the class, you must mail a written request for exclusion, which includes the following:

1. Your full name, address, and email (if any);
2. The name of this case: Brian Dorazio v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, Case No. CV-23-00017-PHX-KML;
3. Your handwritten signature; and
4. A clear statement that you want to be excluded from the class, such as “I hereby request to be excluded from the class in Brian Dorazio v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company.”

The exclusion request must be mailed to the Notice Administrator at the following address, and be postmarked by February 26, 2026:

Brian Dorazio v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company
Notice Administrator
P.O. Box 2777
Portland, OR 97208-2777

You cannot opt out (exclude yourself) by telephone or by email.

“Mass” or “class” requests for exclusion filed by third parties on behalf of a “mass” or “class” of class members or multiple class members will not be allowed.

If you exclude yourself from the class, you won’t get any money or benefits if they become available in the future. You will not be bound by any judgments the Court makes in this lawsuit. By excluding yourself, you will retain any right you may have to sue Allstate about the legal claims alleged in this lawsuit at your own expense.

Yes, the Court has appointed the following lawyers and law firm as “Class Counsel” to represent you and the class:

Robert Carey
John DeStefano
Michella Kras Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
11 W. Jefferson Street, Suite 1000
Phoenix, AZ 85003

You may contact Class Counsel by writing to the address above, sending an email to stacking@hbsslaw.com, or calling (602)840-5900.

These lawyers will not request any payment directly from you, but if the suit results in recovery on behalf of any class members, then they may request to be paid a portion of the recovery that would otherwise be paid to you. You may hire your own lawyer at your own cost and expense if you want someone other than Class Counsel to represent you in this lawsuit.

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you can hire your own lawyer at your own expense. For example, if you hire your own lawyer, you can ask them to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

If Class Counsel gets money or benefits for the class, they may ask the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses. You will not have to personally pay these attorneys’ fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsels’ request, the attorneys’ fees and expenses will either be deducted from any money obtained for the class or paid separately by Allstate.

Class Counsel will have to prove Plaintiffs’ legal claims in court, and this may result in a trial. A trial has not been scheduled. During a trial, a jury and the judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether Plaintiffs or Allstate are right about the legal claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiffs will win, or that they will get any money for the class.

Plaintiffs’ position is that you do not need to attend the trial if one takes place. Allstate’s position is that attendance may be necessary to determine Class members’ individual damages. Class Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiffs and the class, and lawyers for Allstate will present on their behalf. You or your own lawyer may attend at your own expense.

If the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits as a result of the lawsuit, and you remain in the class, you will be notified about how to participate to receive money or benefits. It is unknown how long this will take.