Getting your car repaired after suffering vehicle damage in a crash can be extremely frustrating. On the one hand, another person’s carelessness is causing you to be inconvenienced and potentially face higher insurance...more
This quarter has seen a few new types of class actions against insurers as well as aging of some more mature theories wending their way through the courts. ...more
On September 7, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed a big victory to a class of auto body shops in Quality Auto Painting v. State Farm, et. al, reversing a lower court decision that had dismissed the auto body shops'...more
In a 2-1 decision issued on September 7, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court decision dismissing antirust claims brought by auto body shops against a group of car insurance companies in the In re Auto Body...more
On August 17, the clerk of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a notice to all counsel in Indiana Autobody Association v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, et al., apprising the parties that the plaintiffs'...more
In early December, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one sentence decision refusing to reinstate the plaintiff/appellants' appeal in Parker Auto Body v. State Farm Automobile Insurance Company. The appeal had...more
Over two years ago, class action antitrust cases were commenced by numerous auto body shops against many of the largest auto insurers in the nation. In each case, the auto body shops contended that the insurers had conspired...more
In a suit by an auto body company against a captive insurance company for rescission of certain workers compensation reinsurance participation agreements, for disgorgement of $70,000 paid thereunder, and for fraud, breach of...more
Having succeeded in having class-action antitrust claims brought by auto body shops in several states dismissed by the district court in the In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litigation, the auto insurer defendants in those...more
On May 12, District Judge Gregory Presnell (Middle District of Florida) denied plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration in the In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litigation, delivering another victory to insurers seeking to derail...more
Eye on the Supreme Court—Corruption and Fraud Edition - Why it matters: This session, the Supreme Court has undertaken the review of numerous cases that raise thorny issues arising in the white collar context. In our...more
In early 2014, a group of Florida auto body shops sued the leading auto insurers in their state, alleging that the insurers had conspired to suppress the amounts the auto body shops received in reimbursement rates. The case,...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued one decision on May 2, 2016: Ocasio v. United States, No. 14-361: Petitioner Samuel Ocasio, a former police officer, was tried and convicted under the Hobbs Act for...more
A defendant may be convicted of conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act, 18 U. S. C. §1951, based on proof that the defendant reached an agreement with the owner of the property in question to obtain that property under color of...more
Insurer Antitrust Exemption in Europe in Jeopardy - In the United States, the McCarran Ferguson Act provides insurers with an exemption from the federal antitrust laws. Enacted in 1945, the Act provides that conduct that...more
On September 23, District Court Judge Gregory Presnell (Middle District of Florida) dismissed the antitrust claims asserted by a class of auto body shops in A&E Auto Body v. 21st Century Centennial Insurance, this time with...more
In This Issue: IN THE SPOTLIGHT - - Your Data Breach Collided With My Personal Injury Coverage LIFE INSURANCE - - Phantom Injury Dooms “Shadow Insurance” Case - Latest NAIC Cybersecurity News ...more
Auto insurers control the cost of collision repairs through the use of direct repair programs. The programs feature networks of auto body repair shops that enter into contracts agreeing to discount labor rates and other...more
On August 17, United States District Judge Greg Presnell (M.D. Fla.) handed the auto insurer defendants in the In re Auto Body Antitrust Litigation another significant victory, confirming a "Report and Recommendation" by...more
The Connecticut Supreme Court recently overturned a $34.7 million judgment against The Hartford Fire Insurance Company (“Hartford”) in a class action suit filed by over 1000 auto body repair shops alleging unfair trade...more
In early march, the auto insurer defendants in the In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litigation renewed their motions seeking the dismissal of plaintiffs’ action, this time directed at plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint. The...more
On December 12, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued an order transferring State of Louisiana v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance to the Middle District of Florida, making the case the latest addition...more