The Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) said it is continuing its efforts to challenge the validity and enforceability of design patents directed toward automotive body repair parts. In July 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit published its public opinion rejecting arguments by the ABPA that design patents covering a hood and […]
Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Collision Repair Shop Racketeering Lawsuit Against Insurance Industry
The Appeals Court for the Eleventh Circuit finds lower court dismissal of 2014 class action lawsuit alleging insurers use DRP programs to illegally control non-DRP facilities’ rates was valid. An appeal by the collision repair shop plaintiffs’ appeal to overturn the dismissal of a Federal lawsuit against auto insurance companies failed in late December to […]
Collision Repair Center Lawsuit Against New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Moves Forward
The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) reported that the Union County Superior Court has rejected a motion to dismiss filed by New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance (NJM) in a class action lawsuit brought against it in New Jersey. The suit, filed in June and led by plaintiffs Sam Mikhail (on behalf of […]
CIC Video Details Interview with Consumers from Texas $42 Million Improper Repair Verdict
The Collision Industry Conference (CIC) published the interview with the husband and wife whose improperly repair vehicle was at the center of a $42 million verdict in 2017 against an OEM-certified dealer collision repair facility in Texas that a jury concluded improperly repaired a vehicle that caused it to fail to protect the next owners […]
General Motors Files RICO Lawsuit Against Fiat Chrysler Over Labor Corruption Impact on Costs
Admissions in Justice Department investigation form basis of complaint. General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) announced the filing of a federal racketeering lawsuit against FCA (FCA US LLC and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV) and former FCA executives who have pled guilty in an ongoing federal corruption probe. The lawsuit exposes a multi-year pattern of corruption that FCA […]
3M and sia Abrasives Settle Patent Infringement Disputes
3M Company, 3M Deutschland GmbH, 3M Innovative Properties Company, sia Abrasives Deutschland GmbH and sia Abrasives Industries AG have settled patent infringement lawsuits brought by 3M in the District Court of Mannheim in Germany and the Federal Patent Court in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Robert Bosch GmbH has withdrawn its related opposition to 3M’s patent […]
Service King Collision Repair Centers Settles Hazardous Waste Lawsuit with California District Attorneys
$2.35 million settlement with 11 county District Attorneys follows undercover operation examining store waste streams. Service King Paint & Body, LLC, with 42 collision repair centers in California, has agreed to pay $2.35 million to settle a civil environmental prosecution alleging the company mishandled hazardous waste and confidential customer information. The settlement was announced by […]
Washington State Supreme Court Overturns Lower Court Ruling That Held Insurance Adjusters Personally Liable for Insurance Bad Faith Violations
Majority on Supreme Court find that individual insurance adjusters not personally liable under state law. The Supreme Court of the State of Washington yesterday ruled 5-4 in favor of Allstate Insurance and one of its adjusters in a closely watched case where an appellate court had ruled that individual adjusters could be held liable, along […]
Delaware Court Dismisses Aquila Suit Against Solera
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, a Delaware judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Tony Aquila, the former chief executive of Solera Holdings Inc., against the company that alleged it breached the terms of his separation agreement. According to the report, the dispute is being reviewed and will be resolved by arbitrators […]
Tony Aquila Sues Solera Alleging Breach of Separation Deal
The founder and former CEO of Solera filed a lawsuit in Delaware State Court alleging company manufactured breach of contract to avoid awarding over $100 million in stock options. Tony Aquila, the founder and former CEO of Solera who left the company earlier this year, filed a lawsuit on September 4, in Delaware state court […]