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Vol. 36 / Issue 6 / June 2018
CA Jury Awards Fired Allstate Employee More Than $18 Million
ASCCA/CAA Takes On the Capitol at 2018 Annual Legislative Day
by Denise Johnson, Claims Journal
by Ed Attanasio
A former Allstate Insurance Co. employee who was fired following an arrest has been awarded more than $18 million in damages. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported a San Diego jury awarded 55-year-old Michael Tilkey about $2.6 million in actual damages and nearly $16 million in punitive damages in his wrongful termination lawsuit. Tilkey was fired by Allstate in 2016 after he was arrested in Arizona the prior year following an ar-
gument he had with his then-girlfriend. According to the original complaint, Tilkey had worked for Allstate for 30 years, starting with the company soon after receiving his bachelor’s degree. He worked his way up to field sales leader, advising 30 independent agents and support staff. He alleged that despite his stellar work performance, he was fired without warning in May 2015. The reason given for his abrupt termination was that “threatening anyone” was against company policy. The See Jury Awards 18M, Page 22
Autobody News to Collaborate with Discovery Channel on Previews Promoting Auto TV Shows
Autobody News is excited to announce a new collaboration with the Discovery Channel. ABN will be running weekly features, including an exclusive video on our website at autobodynews.com. Keep an eye on our site and social channels for updates! Shows featured are: Street Outlaws – Street racing in the U.S. is the basis of this docu-reality series, produced for Discovery Channel by Pilgrim Media Group, which features action both on the road and behind the scenes. In Oklahoma City, for example, racers boast having the fastest street cars in the country, and the racing, they say, comes first—before family, before friends and before work! Misfit Garage follows the projects of “Fired Up” Garage Mechanics Tom Smith and Jordan Butler with fellow car pros Thomas Weeks and Scot McMillan. The venture rivals well-known See Discovery Channel, Page 3 Gas Monkey garage—featured
Every year, the California Autobody Association co-hosts CAA/ASCCA /Joint Automotive Aftermarket Industry Legislative Day as automotive repair industry members in the Golden State convene at the Capitol in Sacramento to let their voices be heard. On April 24, 80 collision and mechanical repairers were on hand at the Capitol Event Center to discuss crucial issues that can affect their businesses in one way or another while preparing to meet with their representatives. Body shops are opposed to AB 2276 (Burke), the Auto Body Labor Rate Survey Bill that allows insurers to conduct an “alternative labor rate survey” but eliminates standards set forth in the CDI regulations that pro-
(l to r) Rick Lezcano, the owner of Simply Superior Auto Body in Concord, CA, and ASCCA/CAA Political Analyst Jack Molodanof network at ASCCA/CAA Joint Legislative Day held on April 24 in Sacramento
duce consistent, accurate and reliable labor rate results. It instead allows insurers to skew the results in a manner that will suppress market rates. “On behalf of the CAA, we must regretfully oppose AB 2276, the successor to AB 1679 which failed earlier See Legislative Day, Page 29
13 Arrested in Auto Insurance Fraud Ring in Merced, CA by Staff, Dutra’s The Paper
Thirteen people were arrested May 11 following a lengthy investigation by the Merced, CA, County District Attorney’s office into an automobile insurance fraud ring involving 10 different insurance companies that paid out more than $430,000 in bogus claims, District Attorney Larry D. Morse II announced. In April, a Merced County Grand Jury indicted 21 people for their role in orchestrating staged auto accidents and vandalism and then submitting bogus claims. The scheme began in September of 2011 and continued through June 2016, during which time there were 20 fraudulent claims submitted to insurance companies for payment, Morse said. The insurance fraud ring was brought to light in January 2016 when
an investigator with the Special Investigation Unit of Allstate Insurance contacted Merced County District Attorney Investigator Sheri Carpenter regarding a claim that she believed was a staged accident. Carpenter started her investigation by running the names through an insurance database provided by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which linked the claim to 19 other similar claims. During the investigation, it was discovered that some of the same vehicles were being used for multiple claims with the same damage being reported. The main method of theft, according to Carpenter, came from the alteration of hospital bills that were submitted by the suspects to the insurance companies for which they were paid directly. Carpenter found that many of the same bills were used in See 13 Arrested, Page 22
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