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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 37 / Issue 7 / July 2019
SARC Brings Three State Associations Together to Address Common Concerns
Speaker Says Verdict Being Used by OEMs to Limit Use of Non-OEM Parts
by Autobody News Staff
by John Yoswick
Matt Parker on Mississippi’s Consumer Guide to Insurance and Auto The 2019 SARC meeting wrapped Body Repair, a document developed up in New Orleans on Satby Hood’s Consumer Prourday, June 15, having entection Division and availgaged attendees with talks able for download at www and panels featuring Jim .ago.state.ms.us. Hood, the Mississippi AG Attorney General Hood who is currently running for described his early experience with the industry governor, Aaron Schulenburg, Executive Director of when he was forced to perAttorney General sonally sue an insurer for SCRS, as well as Pulitzer Jim Hood of seizing his property post prize-winning political carMississippi accident. He was emphatic toonist Marshall Ramsey. Ramsey hosted a panel with that this opened his eyes to some of See SARC 2019, Page 4 Burl Richards, Doug White and
California Appellate Court Affirms $1 Million Bad Faith Judgment Against GEICO by Autobody News Staff
On August 11, 2008, Michael Mazik, 24, was involved in a serious automobile accident on a highway in Riverside County. While driving about 45 to 50 miles per hour, he collided head-on with another car that was in his lane driving about the same speed. The other driver, who had crossed over double yellow lines in his attempt to pass slower traffic, was killed. Mazik received $50,000 from Mercury Insurance Company, the insurer for the driver of the other
car who was at fault in the accident. That sum amounted to the full value of the driver’s policy. On December 31, 2009, Mazik’s attorney submitted a claim to GEICO under Mazik’s underinsured motorist policy, which had a policy limit of $100,000. The letter included medical records of Mazik’s treatment to date along with other supporting documentation. In light of the “severity of the damages” and the residual effects of the injuries, the letter requested compensation of $50,000, representing the full policy amount See GEICO Appeal, Page 28
Automakers are pressing for state laws requiring the use of OEM collision repair procedures as part of their effort to limit the use of alternative parts, a representative of LKQ Corporation told a gathering of non-
LKQ Corporation’s Ray Colas said automakers are using a verdict against a shop related to OEM repair procedures as part of their efforts to limit use of non-OEM parts
OEM parts manufacturers and distributors. “This is about money and profit,” Ray Colas, director of government affairs for LKQ Corporation, said at the Auto Body Parts Association (ABPA) convention held in May in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In the effort to pass state laws requiring the use of OEM procedures, automakers and repairers are pointing to the John Eagle Collision lawsuit, in which a dealership collision shop was successfully sued for not following OEM repair procedures on a vehicle in which a Texas couple, Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, were subsequently injured, Colas said. State lawmakers are being told that OEM procedure laws are needed See Non-OEM Parts, Page 50
Fix Auto USA Annual Conference Celebrates Focus on Family Value(s) by Stacey Phillips
More than 20 years ago, Erick and Shelly Bickett set out to create a national network of high-performing independent body shops. The collision repair visionaries wanted to ensure it was supported with a unified and branded infrastructure of systems and processes offering the best quality and services. The first locations were established in Denver, Portland, Los Angeles and San Diego in 2011. Rapid expansion soon followed. Fast forward to 2019 and the San Diegobased company now includes over 150 locations in ten states across the country: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, Minnesota, Nevada and Washington. “We did and are doing what everyone said couldn’t be done,” said
Paul Gange, president and CEO of Fix Auto USA, during the organization’s annual conference. “We took a fragmented industry—independent
(l to r) Erick Bickett, co-founder of Fix Auto USA, and co-owner of eight Fix Auto USA locations, and Paul Gange, president and CEO of Fix Auto USA. Credit: Stacey Phillips
entrepreneurs with their own ideas, attitudes, desires—and we asked them to come together as one.” In June, more than 275 attendees gathered in Carlsbad, CA, at the See Fix Auto USA, Page 32
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