NORTHEAST NEWS (246)
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
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Bohlen Tech Center Students and their Cobra Project
Written by staffMedia
Carsmetics’ new 9,600-square-foot collision repair facility in Attleboro, MA, is the company’s third location in New England. Carsmetics Expert Accident Repair is a chain of collision repair shops based in Tampa, FL.
The shop will focus on fast-track repairs—drivable damage on vehicle panels, bumpers, fenders, hoods and wheels that can be repaired within a two-day cycle time.
"If you can drive it, we can fix it,” said Ed Cleary, general manager of Carsmetics. “We focus on repairing rather than replacing parts when possible to keep the original part intact and return it to like-new condition. This is done at a fraction of replacement costs, saving time and money."
Carsmetics now operates more than 25 shop locations throughout Florida, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Bill to Exempt Newer Cars from Emissions Inspection Passes Senate
Written by staffSEMA-supported legislation to provide a 10-year emissions inspection exemption for vehicles never before registered in Pennsylvania or any other jurisdiction was approved by the Senate. The bill now moves to the House Transportation Committee. Current law only exempts new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.
In late October, over 100 friends and family members paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of a fire in Maspeth, NY, that took the lives of six firefighters.
The plaque and dedication ceremony took place at the location of the 50-year-old fire, now home to VIP Auto Body.
“We thought we had it under control,” said John Killcommons, a now-retired FDNY member who was there the night of fire. Killcommons, 78, said he was lucky to make it out that night, stressing that as crews continued to take water to the fire, it just grew brighter and stronger. “That's when the wall came down.”
New York Auto Body Owner Faces Felony Charges over State Police Vehicle Repairs
Written by staffAn auto body and repair service owner in Bedford, NY, faces several criminal charges connected to the alleged fraudulent repair of state police vehicles. Police say Brian Prato, 55, of Bedford, was part of an insurance fraud in which state police cars were repaired with used parts but charged for new ones.
Prato was arrested on Oct. 4. The owner of B&B Auto Body was charged with five felonies and two misdemeanors. He faces grand larceny and insurance fraud charges brought by state and county investigators who allege they uncovered a scheme to defraud the state and the insurance company that covered state police vehicles. Police said an investigation showed Prato charged for new parts but installed used parts, including some from old cruisers no longer used.
An auto body shop in Long Branch, NJ, sustained structural damage from a motor vehicle crash Sept. 23.
The collision occurred at 9:21 a.m., said Long Branch police Sgt. Jorge Silverio. The unidentified driver was not seriously injured and no criminal charges will be filed, Silverio said.
As police investigated the crash, Neptune OEM and Asbury Park’s Special operations crew assessed the structural damaged and worked to temporarily reinforce a damaged support beam inside Auto Body Solutions.
Auto Body Solutions’ employee Brian Leal, 25, said no one was inside the building at the time of the collision.
“After the crash the driver was outside of the car walking around,” Leal said. “He seemed shaken up, but it looked like he was fine.”
Leal said the car crashed into a garage bay door and caused damage to not only a support beam but the two vehicles parked inside the building.
“We just finished painting the one on the lift,” Leal said. “We won’t be able to open until the damage is repaired.”
Greg Coccaro Wins Significant Appeal from Progressive Insurance, Changes Case Law
Written by staffNorth State Autobahn Inc., a Westchester-NY-based body shop owned by Greg Coccaro, has been allowed to move forward with its lawsuit that accuses Progressive Insurance Group Company and its affiliates of deceptive acts and practices.
The ruling by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York denied Progressive Insurance’s motion for a summary judgment, allowing the lawsuit filed by the North State Autobahn Inc. to move forward.
This is an important victory for North State against Progressive Northeast Insurance Company, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, Progressive Direct Insurance Company, Progressive Specialty Insurance Company, and Nicholas Stanton. The result likely creates a case law basis for deceptive acts and practices claims against auto insurance companies that divert policyholders away from repair shops outside their DRP networks.
In a fifteen page decision, the court went into great lengths explaining the history of “Business Law Section 349, Deceptive Business Practices” and the intent of it, writing: “This case presents us with the question of whether a business entity [North State] has stated a valid cause of action for violation of General Business Law §349(h) where it alleges that another business entity [Progressive] deceived and misled prospective customers, causing it to sustain direct economic loss in the form of more than $5 million in lost business sales. We conclude that it does.”
A lawsuit against the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) was recently dismissed by a U.S. District Judge.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas dismissed several complaints made by Rockland Exposition Inc. in a lawsuit filed against Thomas Greco Publishing, AASP/NJ and the organization’s board members Tom Elder, Thomas Greco and Glenn Villacari.
AASP/NJ said REI filed a lawsuit in 2008 after the association chose not to renew its management contract with REI, and instead move the AASP/NJ NORTHEAST trade show back to New Jersey.
The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers in New Jersey held its annual meeting Oct. 11 and it included a discussion on insurance-mandated parts procurement programs, such as the State Farm/PartsTrader pilot program.
According to the association, the parts procurement discussion is “the biggest issue to impact the collision industry in recent years. They have the potential of negatively impacting both your profits and the way you do business.”
The meeting was considered critically important to its members to “better understand how these programs are being implemented, what feedback is stemming from the markets facing it firsthand, and how it might affect you if it is allowed to enter the New Jersey market.”
Collision shops and parts vendors were encouraged to attend.
Guest speaker was SCRS Executive Director, Aaron Schulenburg, who presented the most current information available and answered questions.
Sheriff's Deputies Evict Route 28 Body Shop Owner
Written by CBS PittsburghAllegheny County sheriff’s deputies arrived at a body shop the morning of Oct. 1 to evict the last remaining business owner along the Route 28 construction zone.
A court order was issued on Sept. 10, that said should the plaintiff fail to vacate the premises the sheriff is directed to evict or remove the plaintiff.
see prior coverage in Autobody News and to read the rest of this article go HERE
