By Tom Davis
Dallas, Texas — October 3, 2017 — John Eagle Collision Center, a Texas-based repairer, has been ordered to pay $31.5 million USD in damages after a jury ruled its “improper repair” was liable for the severity of the crash of a 2010 Honda Fit.
A Texas jury on Monday awarded the driver and passenger, who were injured and trapped inside the burning vehicle, $42 million USD in damages. The Dallas-based shop was found responsible for 75 percent of the total damages with 25 percent of the blame attributed to the other driver, as reported by our US-based content partner, Repairer Driven News.
The final verdict was 10-2, which is an acceptable split under Texas law, as long as all 10 jurors agree on all aspects of the final verdict and damages.
The plaintiffs, Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, were represented by attorney Todd Tracy of Tracy Law Firm. Tracy will also serve as a panelist at the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit at the upcoming SEMA Show. The summit will address the impact OEM procedures, or failing to implement them, have on liability and safety.
The incident occurred in 2013 when the Seebachans were travelling in the Honda Fit on a 75 mph (120 kph) stretch of road. A 2010 Toyota Tundra was travelling in the other lane when it hydroplaned into their path. The Fit struck the right front corner of the Tundra.
Despite little injury to the Tundra’s occupants, the Seebachans were seriously injured and trapped inside the burning vehicle. They did not have knowledge of the Fit’s previous roof repair.
Experts for the plaintiffs said in court documents that the severity of the crash, as well as the Seebachans injuries, were the result of the bodyshop adhesive-bonding the Fit’s roof during an $8,500 hail repair.
This was not in line with Honda’s OEM repair procedures, which demand a shop tack-weld the front and rear corner edges of the new roof before performing two-and-three-plate spot welds and MIG plug welds.
Meanwhile, the defence argued the substitution of the panel bonding agent was equally acceptable. The defence also argued that the shop was actually ahead of Honda’s own engineers in making that determination, reports Repairer Driven News.
The jury came to the conclusion that OEM procedures were “absolutely paramount” due to the shop’s recognition by I-CAR, which demands shops follow OEM procedures. The company’s affiliation with an OEM dealership was also said to be a “huge deal” by the jury.
While the case occurred in the US, the outcome is definitely food for thought for Canadian-based collision repair shops. Kelly Roberts, Manager of Fix Auto North Bay, believes the case will have a knock-on effect in Canada.
Collision Repair magazine reached out to a number of insurers for commentary but had not heard back from them at time of publication.
Tracy, for his part, “plans to re-sue State Farm for its alleged influence in the work and crash-test aftermarket parts,” according to a report on Repairer Driven News.
