SPENCER, W.V., June 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Circuit Court of Roane County, West Virginia has certified a class action lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company ("Nationwide"), and set a trial date of October 6, 2008. The lawsuit is entitled Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. George G. O'Dell, Jr. and Stacy McKown O'Dell, and Chad David Kenny and Bobbie Dawn Kenny v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Civil Action No. 00-C-37.

The lawsuit claims that Nationwide breached its contracts of insurance with Class Members by failing to provide uninsured motorist ("UM") and underinsured motorist ("UIM") coverage to entitled Class Members. The Class also claims that Nationwide's conduct violated the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act and violated Nationwide's duty of good faith and fair dealing to its insureds. Nationwide denies that it did anything wrong.

The Class includes those West Virginia Nationwide auto policyholders or passengers who were injured or suffered property damage in an accident that occurred between April 11, 1993 and the present. Class Members must have: been denied UM or UIM coverage, been provided less UM or UIM coverage than otherwise required, or failed to submit a UM or UIM claim after being told that they did not have UM or UIM coverage by Nationwide, based on Nationwide's 1993 or 1999 mass mailings.

Excluded from the Class are those West Virginia Nationwide auto policyholders who signed a valid waiver giving up their rights to additional UM or UIM coverage, those who settled their UM or UIM claims for less than the full coverage limits that Nationwide said applied to their claim, those who settled the liability claim against another without constructively exhausting the full liability limits that were available, those that filed suit and received a judgment less than the full liability limits that were available from another, and those whose UM or UIM limits applicable to their claim were equal or greater than the policy's bodily injury or property damage liability coverage.

The Court has not yet decided whether the Class or Nationwide are right. There are no financial benefits available to Class Members at this time. Class Members who wish to remain a member of the Class do not need to do anything at this time. Potential Class Members should complete and return a Registration Form, which is available online at the website referenced below or by calling 1-877-562-7599. Class Members who wish to be excluded from the Class must send a written request to be excluded, postmarked by August 22, 2008.

For more information regarding the lawsuit and the claims against Nationwide, please visit www.WVNationwideClassAction.com or call 1-877-562-7599.

The Class is represented by, among other lawyers, Scott Segal of Charleston, West Virginia, whose telephone number is 304-344-9100.

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Source: West Virginia Nationwide Class Action Administrator

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