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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 10 / Issue 1 / April 2019
Gerber Collision & Glass Acquires 18 Carubba Collision Locations, Enters NY State
9 Indicted for Selling Drugs Out of Auto Body Shops in Bronx, NY
Gerber Collision & Glass recently announced it is entering its 27th state with the acquisition of a multi-store operation consisting of 18 collision repair centers located in New York.
by Staff, Bronx Voice
These repair centers are located throughout New York, including the market areas around the cities of Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse. The centers, located in Buffalo (three stores), Amsterdam, Ballston, East Syracuse,
Hamburg, Horseheads, Jamestown, Olean, Oneonta, Scotia, Sennett, Syracuse, Tonawanda, Watertown, Wheatfield and Yorkville, operated as Carubba Collision, which originated in 1955. “We are very excited about this important acquisition, which expands our footprint and allows us to introduce our brand and leading service model to new markets and better assist our insurance clients,” said Tim O’Day, president and COO of Gerber Collision & Glass. “We look forward to maintaining the high level of service provided at these locations.”
Class Action Against Allstate Can Continue; “Company, Not State, Sets Rates” Appeals Court Says by Dan Churney, Cook County Record
In a split decision, an Illinois appeals panel stripped Allstate Insurance of its defenses against a class action that alleged the company unfairly billed long-term auto policyholders more than it charged new ones. The panel said Illinois insurers can’t protect their rates from lawsuits because their rates are not controlled by the Illinois Department of Insurance. The Jan. 29 ruling was delivered by Justice Judy Cates with concurrence from Justice Melissa
Chapman of Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon. Justice James Moore dissented.
Nine members of a drug gang have been indicted by the feds for selling heroin out of Bronx, NY, auto body shops. The following have been charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, fentanyl and cocaine: Adalberto Velazquez, a/k/a “Joe”; Raymond Resto, a/k/a “Tone”; Sal Castro, a/k/a “Floss”; Joel Lopez, a/k/a “Rompiendoe,” a/k/a “Paul,” a/k/a “Po”; Willis Lleras, a/k/a “Willy”; Reinaldo Roman, a/k/a “Papo”; Jaime Garcia, a/k/a “Jimmy”; Antonio Burgos, a/k/a “Anthony”; and Marilyn Adino. According to the allegations in the indictment and statements made in court:
The defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) that packaged and sold narcotics out of multiple auto body shops and garages in the Bronx. From 2015 to February 2019, the DTO is estimated to have distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin. Much of the heroin that the DTO distributed was mixed with fentanyl. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants were a network that outwardly offered to fix cars but was really an organization that would supply a fix of heroin or cocaine. Thanks to the work of the DEA and its Strike Force partners, we have delivered a body blow to these allegedly drugpeddling body shops.” See 9 Indicted, Page 12
Court Junks Body Shops’ Antitrust Claims Against State Farm, Other Carriers by Greg Land, PropertyCasualty360.com
The ruling favored Illinois residents Jeffrey A. Corbin, Margaret A. Corbin and Anna Tryfonas in their class action complaint against Allstate. They brought the suit in 2016 to downstate Madison County Circuit Court, which is known as a See Class Action, Page 22
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has scrapped five combined lawsuits filed by auto body repair shops accusing State Farm Insurance and several other insurers of conspiring to punish shops that didn’t cooperate with its alleged scheme to fix prices and use sub-standard replacement parts. No Price-Fixing Eight of the nine judge en banc panel agreed that the repair shops’ complaints didn’t rise to the level of price-fixing and group-boycotting under the Sherman Antitrust Act, agreeing with a trial judge who dismissed the actions in 2016. The case has divided courts. In 2017, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit had split the other way, with Judge Charles Wilson and a visiting judge sitting by appointment saying complaints should move forward, while a third, Senior Judge R. Lanier Anderson, dissented. The majority opinion made March 4 was written by Anderson with the concurrence of Chief Judge Ed Carnes and Judges Gerald Tjoflat, Adalberto Jordan, Kevin Newson, William Pryor, Beverly Martin and Elizabeth Branch. The dissenting opinion was crafted by Judge Charles Wilson, who had written the earlier opinion favoring the body shops. The most recent ruling dismissed the federal causes of action and two of three state claims, leaving alive only a claim for tortious interference. See Antitrust Claims, Page 24
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