CollisionMax Launches 'Metal of Honor' Project to Thank 11 U.S. Military Veterans in PA and NJ
Written by staffCollisionMax Autobody and Glass Centers recently launched a new program to honor and thank U.S. military veterans by giving away 11 auto body repair jobs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Eleven U.S. military service veterans in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will receive a free auto body repair over the next year through the Metal of Honor project sponsored by family-owned CollisionMax, an auto body repair business that operates in Philadelphia and suburbs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The program kicked off on May 4 at a classic and custom car showcase at its Warminster shop in Warminster, PA. The event featured WMMR-FM radio personality Pierre Robert and “Minerva,” his custom 1972 Volkswagen bus that CollisionMax restored this year.
LIABRA Joined NYSACTA for Lobby Day in Albany, New York on April 16
Written by staffLong Island Auto Body Repairmen’s Association (LIABRA) members joined New York State Auto Collision Technician Association (NYSACTA) members for its annual Lobby Day held on April 16.
LIABRA members Ed Kizenberger, Hank Hancock and Ed Kizenberger Jr. visited the state capitol in Albany, NY, with more than 30 NYSACTA representatives from all over the state, along with lobbyist Pam Madeiros and staff from NYSACTA’s lobby law firm, Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
SEMA Hails Proposal to Save OHV Area at Twentynine Palms
Written by staffThe Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has endorsed a proposal by Rep. Paul Cook that would end a five-year debate on how to expand the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) base at Twentynine Palms, CA. Under the compromise, the Marines would have access to the adjoining Johnson Valley Off-Highway (OHV) Recreation Area for up to 42 days a year for training exercises but the OHV area would be otherwise preserved in perpetuity.
Employees at a Victorville, CA, body shop knew just what to do when a car fire disrupted business as usual in mid April. Workers grabbed fire extinguishers to snuff out a vehicle fire before firefighters arrived, according to San Bernardino County Fire Department officials.
The call came in to Fire Dispatch at 12:29 p.m. of a car on fire at Sonshine Auto Body on Jasmine Street in Victorville, officials said.
California Court of Appeal Upholds Commissioner's Authority
Written by staffOn April 26, 2013, the California Court of Appeal upheld a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling that dismissed Mercury Insurance Company's lawsuit challenging the insurance commissioner's authority.
"I am pleased that the Court of Appeal recognized that Mercury's lawsuit lacked merit and must be dismissed," said Commissioner Dave Jones. "The Court of Appeal clearly affirmed the insurance commissioner's exclusive authority to adjudicate disputes between the Department of Insurance and insurers in an administrative forum and that insurance companies such as Mercury must wait until I render a final decision before seeking judicial intervention."
CAA San Diego Hosts "Emergency" Meeting May 22 Regarding Flat-Rate Wage Plan
Written by staffThe San Diego chapter of the California Autobody Association will host an "emergency" meeting for members only on May 22 at the Hilton on Harbor Island.
In March, the California Court of Appeals in Los Angeles affirmed a 2011 trial court decision that changed the face of the flat-rate compensation forever. An appeal to the California Supreme Court is expected, but shops paying employees on a flat-rate system must make changes now to protect themselves.
Owners and managers only are invited to this meeting.
Guest speaker is Cory King, partner with Fine, Boggs & Perkins LLP, who will present a 90-minute seminar called "Flat-Rate Wage Plan Solution."
King and his firm serve as labor and employment counsel for the California Autobody Association, as well as the California New Car Dealers Association. He will explain how we ended up in this situation, but more importantly, provide a number of proposed solutions for shops to consider. No shop can afford to miss this seminar.
Attendees should arrived by 6:30. Meeting and dinner will start at 7 p.m. Cost for members is $40. Cost to join CAA is $499. For membership questions, contact Cindy Shillito, southern California representative, at (714) 944-4028.
SEMA Show Enhances Services for Collision Repair Market
Written by SEMA staffThe 2013 SEMA Show will include enhanced features for the Collision Repair & Refinish market, including an expanded show floor area, targeted activities both inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Center, and an unsurpassed educational program. The upgrades come as a result of the fast-growing interest from both exhibitors and buyers in the collision market segment.
“As interest grows and the landscape changes, we continue to evolve and are excited about the plans for 2013,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA VP of events and communications.
Atlanta Car washes and auto body shops appear to be safe for now in revised proposed Red-Light District legislation
Written by staffAtlanta City Councilman Alex Wan and his supporters in Neighborhood Planning Unit-F (NPU-F) were proposing legislation that would do away with the "grandfather clause" protecting numerous businesses targeted on Atlanta's Cheshire Bridge Rd. Although businesses such as Kong's Body Shop, which has been a fixture on Cheshire Bridge Road for over 27 years, councilman Wan and NPU-F wanted to close them down. Kong's opened their doors in 1986, ten years before the City and the NPU-F proposed a zoning change in 1996 from C (Commercial) to NC (Neighborhood Commercial). Businesses such as Kong's were protected under the "grandfather clause" which allowed businesses to operate under the new zoning regulations.
The controversial zoning changes, proposed by Alex Wan, would have essentially zoned out adult-only entertainment businesses as well as car washes and auto repair shops along the popular road considered the city's red light district. Wan and members of NPU-F argued the changes were part of a 1999 study of the road and approved in 2005 by the city council.
However, Councilmember Wan in an email to constituents now says he would only target adult businesses in his proposed rezoning ordinances for Cheshire Bridge Road. That means car washes and auto body shops, which were included in the original legislations to be zoned out, are apparently safe for now.
The Connecticut House of Representatives approved a bill (Substitute House Bill No. 5072) on May 7 designed to extend a ban on steering by auto physical damages appraisers or third-party insurance administrators (TPAs) to specific repair shops, including auto glass repair and replacement companies.
This bill requires initial communications between a glass claims representative or a third-party claims administrator of an insurance company doing business in Connecticut and the company's insured about automotive glass works or products to inform the insured about his or her right to choose where to have the work done.
It extends a ban on steering by automobile physical damage appraisers. By law, they cannot require or prohibit automotive appraisals or repairs to be performed in or by a specified facility or repair shop. The bill extends this prohibition to glass work performed by a glass shop.
PA Glass Shop Owner Sentenced to Death in Killings of Mother, Sister, and Aunt
Written by staffKevin Murphy, the owner of Ferguson Glass in Saltsburg, PA, has been found guilty and sentenced to death in the 2009 deaths of his mother, sister, and aunt, all three of whom were employees at his shop, according to a representative at the Westmoreland Country District Attorney's (DA) Office of Pennsylvania.
The jury recommended he be sentenced to death on May 7 after deliberating for a few hours. The judge formally sentenced Murphy on May 9.
Murphy, 49, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and criminal homicide in April 2010, one year after the victims, Edith Cora Tietge, 81, Kris Lynn Murphy, 43, and Doris Lee Murphy, 69, were found dead at his Saltsburg, PA-based auto glass shop on April 23, 2009.
The verdict appears not to have impacted Ferguson Glass business. Donald Shondelmyer, an employee of the auto glass shop, has taken over the business, and currently lives with Murphy's former girlfriend, Susan McGuire, who previously had a relationship with Murphy, 52, of Conemaugh Township, Indiana County.
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck argued that Murphy was guilty of three counts of first degree murder for fatally shooting his mother, sister and aunt four years ago because they did not approve of his relationship with McGuire, who was married to another man at the time.
