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CA Insurance Commissioner Jones Wins Legal Fight as State Supreme Court Affirms Regulatory Authority by Ed Attanasio
Within the last six years, the insurance industry has continually questioned the authority of the California Department of Insurance to regulate its industry on several fronts. But in a sweeping victory for consumers, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced that on Jan. 23 the California Supreme Court, in a 7-0 decision, affirmed his authority against a major insurance industry legal challenge. Rejecting the insurance industry’s arguments, the Supreme Court ruled the insurance commissioner has broad
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones (file photo.)
discretion to adopt rules and regulations as necessary to promote the public welfare. The insurance industry lost See Commissioner Jones, Page 28
Court Refuses to Void Jury’s $2 Verdict in Car Crash Lawsuit in Pennsylvania by Matt Miller, Penn Live
NORTHEAST™ Trade Show Registration Opens Feb 1 The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) is expanding its “Body Shop Certification and You” discussion panel at the Northeast 2017 Automotive Services Show to a four-session series. The show will taking place March 17–19 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ.
AASP/NJ has added the additional sessions in order to gain perspectives from all parties involved in the repair certification process, including the OEMs, the tooling and equipment providers, and the shops. “Every year, we face the challenge of presenting something that will not only educate our attendees but also keep them one step ahead,” said AASP/NJ President Jeff McDowell. “Last year, our initial OEM certification program panel helped inform attendees of what was on
the horizon. Since then, the topic has exploded, and so we thought we would incorporate the theme of certification throughout the weekend of NORTHEAST 2017. Certification is the future of this industry, and we plan to cover the topic inside and out at the show.” The sessions at Northeast 2017 include: Session 1: The Shop Perspective Friday, March 17, 5:45 p.m.7 p.m. Session 2: The OEM Perspective, Part 1 Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Session 3: Considerations in Tooling & Equipment Saturday, March 18, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Session 4: The OEM Perspective, Part 2 Saturday, March 18, 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Registration for these sessions and the other Northeast educational sessions will be open Feb. 1 at www.aasp njnortheast.com.
Eleventh Circuit Refuses to Reinstate Dismissed Auto Body Shop Antitrust Case on Procedural Grounds by James Burns and Baker Donelson
The Pennsylvania Judicial Center. Credit: Carolyn Kaster/The Associated Press
by Joseph Smith and Judith Kaplow were involved in a sideswipe collision. The drivers exchanged insurance information, then parted. According to See $2 Verdict, Page 16
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A state appeals court is refusing to second-guess a jury that rendered a $2 damages verdict in a lawsuit over a traffic accident that occurred in the busy loop in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And a Philadelphia judge was right not to grant a new trial to the plaintiffs in the case, the Superior Court concluded in an opinion Judge Paula Francisco Ott filed this week. The crash in question occurred on Sept 4, 2012, on the Eakins Oval of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. During a driving rainstorm, cars driven
VOL. 7 ISSUE 11 FEBRUARY 2017
In early December, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one sentence decision refusing to reinstate the plaintiff/appellants’ appeal in Parker Auto Body v. State Farm Automobile Insurance Company. The appeal had previously been dismissed by the Court based upon the appellants’ failure to file their case Appendix (the records from the district court that the appellate court reviews when considering an appeal) on a timely basis. As a result of the Court’s most recent ruling, barring a successful appeal to the Supreme Court—which would seem unlikely—the Eleventh Circuit’s refusal to reinstate the appeal brings an end to the case for the auto body shop plaintiffs in that case. Notably, however, the Parker case is only one of a series of class ac-
tion proceedings brought by auto body shops in several states against many of the largest auto insurers in the nation. In each case, the auto body shops contended that the insurers had conspired to limit the reimbursement rates provided by the insurers for insured repairs. The cases were ultimately all consolidated before Judge Gregory Presnell (Middle District of Florida) as the In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litigation, and Judge Presnell subsequently dismissed the antitrust claims in most of the cases, many on a case-by-case basis, for failure to state a claim. The plaintiffs in several of the dismissed cases filed appeals with the Eleventh Circuit, with the Parker case being the earliest appealed action. Because the dismissal in the Parker case was on procedural grounds, it does See 11th Circuit Refuses, Page 27
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