A Missouri appellate court ruled that, absent an express policy provision stating otherwise, labor is not depreciable from an ACV calculation. The case is Franklin v. Lexington Ins. Co., 652 S.W.3d 286 (Mo. Ct. App. 2022). 

After the Franklins' roof suffered damage in a storm, Mrs. Franklin filed a homeowners claim with Lexington. The carrier sent an adjuster to conduct an inspection and determine both the ACV and RCV of the home, with specific instructions to "depreciate materials and sales tax only" (emphasis original). The adjuster used a computer program called Xactimate to determine the ACV and the RCV for the Franklins' claim. However, the adjuster included a depreciation for labor in addition to the depreciation of materials and sales tax. 

Lexington issued a payment to Mrs. Franklin for $24,073.32 and sent a letter advising her that she "needed to submit paid repair invoices or receipts, showing the repairs were completed" before she could "recover [the] applicable depreciation" for the newly repaired item. Mrs. Franklin performed some repairs and timely submitted the information to Lexington. A desk adjuster employed by Lexington made periodic attempts to contact Mrs. Franklin to get more information about the repairs she'd made, but could not reach her. After three months of unsuccessful attempts, the adjuster noted in Mrs. Franklin's claim file that she could not be reached and that her damages and adjusted living expenses had been paid before closing the claim. Lexington did not receive any further invoices, receipts, or other payment documents from Mrs. Franklin. The insurer had not paid her any more for repairs or for damages.