More shops sue paint makers, one withdraws

When Sheila Loftus, editor of Hammer & Dolly in Washington, D.C. wrote last March that "a source told Hammer and Dolly that allegedly the paint companies agreed to fix prices during a meeting in Europe five years ago" she had no idea that the Justice Department would end up looking into the matter or that it would lead to over 30 lawsuits for price-fixing being filed against the major paint manufacturers by body shops and paint distributors. Loftus said that she never spoke directly to anyone with actual knowledge of the alleged 1993 meeting and that while her source was reliable the information was, in fact, hearsay (second hand). She therefore finds it incredible that some attorneys are citing her article in their lawsuits.

One high-visibility plaintiff, Jack and Kevin Caldwell of Autobody by Caldwell in Laguna Hills, California has instructed its attorney to withdraw the complaint. "Dad and I decided on the plane after I-CAR in Baltimore that this was getting out of hand and that we would decline to be part of it," Kevin Caldwell said.

CAPA Fenders lose at CIC test fit

Repairers attending the CIC meeting held in Baltimore last month in conjunction with the I-CAR annual meeting were not pleased with the fit of non-OEM fenders on a '98 Nissan Maxima - only 73% scored the fit satisfactory on a part made by Tong Yang, while the OEM right fender scored a solid 100% OK... more in the next issue.

California-Texas consolidator Caliber buys So. California shop

Caliber Collision Centers, with repair centers in California and Texas, in July acquired Best Auto Body & Paint of Hesperia, California. At the time of the sale, Best Auto Body was repairing 80-100 cars a month according to the seller, Jack Dora. Dora and his wife Louanna had operated Best since 1964.

The addition of Best Auto Body & Paint brings to 33 the number of Caliber centers in Southern California, with an additional 26 centers in Texas.

Jack Dora planned to remain with Caliber through the end of July, followed by a vacation to Hawaii and a fishing trip to Baja. "I don't really know what I'm going to do afterwards," said Dora, 53, "but I'm ready to do something else with my life." With a non-compete agreement for only 30 miles from his shop, Dora could open a new shop near his home in Yorba Linda in Orange County. "Not likely," said Dora. "It's time for a change." He noted that Caliber was the first consolidator to approach him about selling the business.

Dent repairer defrauds Hyundai

Hyundai Motor America (HMA) has been awarded $1.9 million by a Las Vegas jury in a fraud and racketeering lawsuit against an auto body repair company. The suit was filed against the principals of a paintless dent repair company, Ace-A-Dent, Inc., Gary Bowman and Dennis Hallam and a former HMA fleet remarketing employee, Robert Corder.

The suit, filed by HMA in federal district court in Nevada, claimed the defendants conspired to defraud Hyundai through a system of fraudulent invoicing for dent repair services that were never, or not properly, performed. The suit also claimed that Hyundai's ex-employee, Corder, who had the responsibility to oversee and approve the work at the auction, was involved in the conspiracy, receiving bribes and kickbacks in exchange for directing work to Ace-A-Dent and for permitting the fraud to take place. Corder had verdicts for fraud, conspiracy and racketeering entered against him.

Saturn to participate in CollisionLink

Saturn Corp. has signed an agreement to offer independent auto parts and service providers online access to Saturn original equipment parts through OEConnection. This move will allow Saturn retailers and their wholesale customers to do business through the e-commerce provider's CollisionLink product, which facilitates the parts specification and ordering process between dealerships and their collision shop customers.

Saturn is the newest automaker participant in OEConnection's parts and service portal, which was founded by DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Bell & Howell.