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VOL. 8 ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 2017
Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Body Shops’ Lawsuit Against Insurers, Attorney “Extremely Excited”
Hurricane Harvey Wreaks Havoc on Houston, Affected Body Shops Report on Damage
Five auto body shops, who claimed several insurance companies fixed repair prices, have had their case reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The shops, which are located in different states throughout the country, originally had their case dismissed by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida based on insufficient evidence proving the insurers have an agreement to fix prices. However, on September 7, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the dismissal.
When Hurricane Harvey hit the Southeast part of Texas during the weekend of August 25–27, many small towns along the coast were utterly devastated and destroyed.
by Katherine Coig, GlassBytes
The repair shops allege State Farm, as well as nine other insurers, “depress the shops’ rate for automobile repair,” by setting a market rate which would only benefit the insurance provider. The shops also claim the insurers steer consumers away from noncompliant auto shops, violating federal antitrust and state tort laws. According to court documents, the Eleventh Circuit elected to move the lawsuit forward, stating the shops supplied reasonable allegations to support their claim of an agreement among insurers to set a market rate for See Suit Reinstated, Page 3
Damage from Hurricane IRMA was still being assessed at our press time and will be included in our November issue. Your stories are welcome. More Harvey coverage throughout; SEMA Preview Coverage p. 16, 20, 21, 34
ABRA Auto Body Didn’t Properly Collect Employee, Customer Fingerprints Says Plaintiff in Class Action Suit
See ABRA Class Action, Page 48
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
Two more business groups—a chain of auto body repair shops and a group of fitness clubs—have been added to the growing list of shops being sued under an Illinois law governing how businesses are supposed to handle the collection and use of employees’ and customers’ fingerprints and other socalled biometric information.
On Sept. 8, attorneys with two Chicago law firms introduced class action lawsuits in Cook County Circuit Court, accusing both ABRA Auto Body & Glass and the operators of the Crunch Fitness group of gyms, of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Lawyers for the firm of Stephan Zouras LLP, of Chicago, filed suit on
Change Service Requested
by Jonathan Bilyk, Cook County Record
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
Credit: Patch.com
However, the most damage was sustained in Houston due to the city’s large size and denser population. Homes, vehicles and businesses were
flooded, and at least 45 Houston lives were lost as Harvey unleashed its fury on the Lone Star State. Harvey hit the Texas coast on the evening of Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds as high as 130 mph, ravaging the coastline. Houston residents awoke on Sunday to flooding that turned roads into rivers. John Kopriva, President of the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA), reported, “We normally get about 50 inches of rain annually in Houston, but during Harvey, we got 53 inches in just a few days.” Kopriva’s shop had 3 feet of water in the back of the building, but fortunately, he had moved all his customers’ vehicles to the front of the building, and neither his nor his children’s homes sustained damage. Others were not so lucky. Several See Shops Affected, Page 18
Hurricane Harvey Ravaged Cars and Trucks — Bad for Drivers, Good for Automakers by James F. Peltz and David Montero, McRee Ford, Dickinson, Texas Los Angeles Times
with his insurance carrier yet; he’s been busy helping his parents clean out their wind-damaged house along the coast. He said he doubts he’ll get much anyway and is instead hoping
Perry Smith tried to race Hurricane Harvey. He lost. Now his white Toyota Corolla sits with a broken axle in the parking lot of a Strips convenience store in Rockport, Texas. It is, he admits, probably the end of the road for his trusty car with almost 190,000 miles on it. “The hurricane was right Harvey created epic flooding throughout Houston and on my tail,” Smith said. “It southeast Texas. Credit: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times caught me. It lifted the back of the car up and I was looking down for some assistance from the Federal at the road through my windshield. Emergency Management Agency. Still, Texans already have filed Then—bam—it slammed back down more than 100,000 storm-related and that was it.” See Harvey Ravage, Page 24 Smith, 56, hasn’t filed a claim
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