Commonwealth Collision Repairers Thank Jim Castleman for 40 Years of Support

For over 40 years, Jim Castleman has been contributing to the Commonwealth’s auto body community sharing his legal insights as an attorney and an educator. Many know him as a staple columnist in New England Automotive Report and Damage Report. He has offered a fountain of knowledge that has strengthened the industry and the association over the years, and several association members who count him among their friends shared their thoughts about how Jim has influenced their businesses.

“Jim has been a tremendous resource to AASP/MA and was instrumental in helping the three auto body associations successfully merge back in 2010,” recalls Molly Brodeur (Al Brodeur’s Auto Body; Marlborough). “Jim has graciously taken time to speak and present at numerous meetings over the years, advising and collaborating with shop owners, and he has personally assisted my shop with proper documentation and legal issues that have arisen over the years. Jim’s input will be missed!”

Tom Ricci (Body and Paint of Hudson) has known Castleman since 1988 and insists “No one in our industry knows the laws and regulations like Jim.”

The pair met when Ricci joined the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA) and the Central Massachusetts Auto Rebuilders Association (CMARA). “I got to know Jim pretty well over the years through those two associations. He’s a great guy who really understands the collision repair industry and our issues. He has earned a lot of respect by being open, honest and easy to talk to, plus he has given us some great advice over the years about what’s going on in our industry. He has always graciously shared his invaluable wealth of knowledge, and it’s truly been a pleasure to work with him over the years.”

Ricci remembers the many times that Castleman has examined the challenges shops face and identified the best course of action to address those problems through laws and regulations. For example, when CMARA was focused on a labor rate issue and cost containment concerns, “Jim did his homework and learned that a study was supposed to be conducted, but that study never took place. No one had really heard much about it, but Jim did the research to figure out which legal avenues we were able to take to legally press them and get something accomplished because he understood and empathized with the depth to which that cost containment was affecting our shops.”

Mike Penacho (Mike’s Auto Body; Fall River) shares a memory from years ago when he got into a bind that Castleman helped him get out of. A customer frantically came to the shop, seeking a rental car after someone broke into her house, stole the keys and destroyed her car. Her boyfriend, who accompanied her to pick up the rental, was uninsured, so the signed agreement specified that he could not drive the rental car; however, a week later, the boyfriend called Penacho and admitted that he wrecked the car which was deemed a total loss. Since the boyfriend was not on the policy, Penacho’s insurance company denied the claim.

“Jimmy helped me find out that this guy had a different policy with the same insurer, but they denied it again since the boyfriend didn’t sign the rental agreement,” Penacho says. “Well, in Massachusetts, when someone steals your car, it gets filed under loss of use, so Jim recommended that I report the car stolen since it was driven by someone who wasn’t authorized to drive it, and then I was able to file a third claim under loss of use, and that’s how I finally got paid. Jimmy happened to know the right rule at the right time to help me out. But that’s always how it’s been with him.

“I’ve known Jimmy for nearly 40 years, and he’s always offered great advice,” Penacho continues. “There have been times when I emailed him with an emergency while he was on vacation, and he still emailed me back. When I had issues with the state police related to my towing company, he helped with that. Many times, I’ve called him up with a specific situation, and two months later, I’d see an article about it in New England Automotive Report because he wanted other shops to be aware of that situation and be prepared to address it. Jim is going to be hard to replace. He’s grown tremendously with our industry, and he’s full of knowledge about what we do. He’s been a very good friend and a brother, and I wish him the best in his future endeavors!”

“I first started working with Jim when I became the executive director of MABA in the early 1990s,” AASP/MA Executive Director Lucky Papageorg recounts. “As my role was new to me at the time, I relied heavily on Jim, who was always there to give his guidance and share his knowledge, so that I could better assist our membership. Over the years, I have grown to know Jim and consider him a mentor, a source of knowledge, a sounding board, but even more so, as a real ally in the battle to help the consumers and the collision repair industry here in Massachusetts. Above all else, I am thankful for his friendship which I know will far outlast our work in the collision industry. I will surely miss our brainstorming and collaboration on articles in NEAR. I wish him and his wife Claire all the best in the future.”

It is with heartfelt gratitude that all who know him wish him the best as he steps away from the magazine and follows the new direction his law career has taken in recent years (don’t miss his farewell message on page 32).