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VOL. 2 ISSUE 1 MARCH 2011
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Mississippi Auto Insurance Bill Passes Class Action Judgments: GEICO Wins Appeal vs. Greenberger & Progressive Wins vs. Blue Ash Inc. Senate, Moves to House
The Mississippi Senate has passed a bill requiring each motorist to show proof of liability insurance before receiving a car tag, according to reports made by the ClarionLedger. Sen. Billy Billy Hewes Hewes, a Republican from Gulfport, says his constituents have complained about being involved in crashes with drivers who aren’t insured. Hewes says the bill wouldn’t re-
quire any extra paperwork for tax collectors. He says all they’ll have to do is ask to see an individual’s proof of insurance before granting the car tag. Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith, a Republican from Brookhaven who voted against the bill, says her local officials were concerned about the extra duty slowing the process at tax collectors’ offices. The bill now moves to the House, where similar proposals have died in the past. The bill is Senate Bill 2053.
Jordan Hendler, executive director of the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Auto Body Association, averted a suicide attempt in January by physically intervening when she encountered a teenage girl threatening to jump Jordan Hendler from a freeway overpass. Hendler called 911 as she approached the girl on the edge of the overpass, then kept talking to her, pleading with her not to jump. “I told her something my father (CIC Administrator Jeff Hendler) always told me about suicide: “This is a permanent solution to a temporary prob-
lem.’” Jordan Hendler kept talking to the girl as another by-passer approached from the other end of the overpass. Together they restrained the girl and pulled her from the barrier she had climbed over. Hendler said it took both of them to hold the hysterical girl down until emergency responders arrived about four minutes after the call to 911. “It seemed like an eternity, a lot longer,” Hendler said. She said she knows nothing about the girl other than she looked to be about 14 or 15, and lives in a group home for teenagers. “You don’t know that one day you’ll be called upon to do the right thing at the right moment, but when the time comes, if you have your heart open, you will know exactly what to do,” Hendler said.
Jordan Hendler Averts Teenager’s Suicide Attempt
Two collision-related class action lawsuits against major insurers have recently been decided in favor of the insurers. In the GEICO case on appeal partially due to lack of evidence (the vehicle). In the Progressive case a summary judgErica Eversman comments on ment was returned Progressive vs. on two of six Blue Ash et. al. counts charged. The plaintiffs in the Progressive case have decided to drop the remaining existing charges to facilitate an appeal of the summary judgment.
Don’t Give Away the Evidence The January 10, 2011 GEICO decision pertains to a Chicago law professor’s prospective class action suit accusing the insurance company of deliberately omitting repairs from its estimates. He lost the case in part because he gave away the car (the evidence) before the case was resolved. On July 4, 2002, Greenberger, a professor and administrator at a Chicago law school, was involved in an automobile accident, and his 1994
Acura sustained damage to its bumper, steering box, suspension, and lower body. The next day, a GEICO insurance adjuster inspected the car at Greenberger’s home and wrote him a check for $3,284.69 ($3,784.69 minus a $500 deductible). Greenberger cashed the check but did not repair his car. Five months later, a stranger approached Greenberger in a parking lot and expressed interest in buying the car. Greenberger permitted this prospective buyer to take the Acura to a friend’s body shop for an estimate of what it would cost to repair it. The buyer’s technician, Sarkit Tokat of Lake Side Auto Rebuilders, delivered an estimate of $4,938.65, about $1,150 higher than GEICO’s estimate. The sale was not made, however, and in December 2002 Greenberger donated the car to charity without making any repairs. Exactly three years after accepting GEICO’s payment on his claim, Greenberger filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging breach of contract, violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act, and common-law fraud. He claimed that
REGIONAL STORIES in this issue...
See Class Actions, Page 27
Arkansas Legislature to Ban Certain Cell Phone Usage . . . . . . .p. 23
Florida Cracks Down on Auto Insurance Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 8
Florida Has Most Staged Auto Crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 7
Florida Officials Warn on Used Car Title Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 5
Mississippi Considers KKK Leader for License Plates . . . . . . . .p. 9
NATIONAL and COLUMNS in this issue... Class Action Lawsuits
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 1
Ford Cuts Back on Lincoln Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 20
ABPA says Aftermarket Outperforms OEM Sometimes . . . . . . . .p. 21
COLUMNS in this issue... Amaradio, Attanasio, Danalevich,
Evans, Franklin, Insurance Insider, and Yoswick
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