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TIME’s Dealer of the Year is Michael Alford, NADA Meeting Touts “Momentum” Theme
Among the most anticipated events at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in Orlando, FL, was the TIME Dealer of the Year award. TIME and Ally Financial jointly declared Michael Alford, president of
Marine Chevrolet Cadillac in Jacksonville, NC, 2013 TIME Dealer of the Year. Autobody News was alone among collision trade media invited to attend the event, which carried the theme See NADA Momentum, Page 27
There’s a lot more to read online and in our Flash Editions See Stories from Other Regions at Autobodynews.com ● CAA-San Diego Hosts PartsTrader’s Dale Sailer (Western) ● More Stringent PIP Laws in Effect in Florida (Southeast) ● Speaking to Body Shop Owners is a Tough but Rewarding Gig (Western) ● Oklahoma Reintroduces Aftermarket Parts Disclosure Law (Southwest) ● Alabama Association ALARISE Joins SCRS (Southeast) ● San Diego Stops Red Light Camera Usage, Rear-Ends Upped (Western) ● I-CAR Modifies Platinum, Gold Requirements (Southeast) ● Ron Pyle Won’t Seek Another NASTF Chair Term (Southeast) ● AASP-MN Annual Meeting and Convention in Plymouth (Great Lakes) ● Detroit’s Korte’s Collision Helps Australians (Great Lakes) ● Michigan Regulators Warn of Bogus No-Fault Insurance (Great Lakes) ● CARSTAR Opens Locations in Oklahoma and Denton, TX (Southwest)
VOL. 2 ISSUE 12 MARCH 2013
GEICO Joins State Farm in Seeking Gag Order Against Ray Gunder, Tactic to Block Information GEICO has joined State Farm in seeking a gag order against Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center in Lakeland, FL. Gunder is suing the insurers on behalf of his customers for intentional short pays and a variety of other alleged misdoings. According to Gunder’s spokespeople, GEICO brought in legal cocounsel last week from Arizona, who immediately sent notice to Gunder’s attorney, Brent Geohagan, that they would be seeking a delay/continuance for several scheduled depositions and request the court to issue a gag order to stop Gunder from sharing his legal findings. Last month, State Farm filed a similar motion with the local court to
stop Gunder from sharing information relative to the numerous lawsuits he has filed on behalf of his customers, including deposition transcripts and results of hearings and discovery. “Because no ‘trade secrets’ (i.e. policy premiums, methodology to set or determine pricing, demographics, etc.) will be part or parcel of the discovery in these cases, and because the terms of the insurers’ policy/contracts are readily available to all, as are their marketing efforts, I can see no viable or ‘legitimate trade secret’ concerns that would warrant the courts to issue such an order to silence Ray,” said Barrett Smith of Auto Damage Experts (ADE). “Based upon what has See Gagging Gunder, Page 9
Coming in April... First of Two Special Paint Issues, Plus:
IABA 3rd Convention & Technology Showcase Coverage . . . . . . NADA University Presentations Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AASP/NJ Northeast Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parts Procurement Discussion to be Held at AASP/NJs 36th Annual NORTHEAST Show AASP/NJ will host its 36th Annual NORTHEAST 2013 Automotive Services Show at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ, on March 8-10. Registration is open for the insurer-mandated parts procurement panel at the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) 36th annual NORTHEAST 2013 Automotive Services Show. Aaron Schulenburg, Executive Director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), will moderate the seminar, “Insurer-Mandated Parts Procurement: A Discussion From the Frontlines.” The seminar will take place on Friday, March 8, from 6-8 p.m. in Seminar Room B. The discussion will focus on the effects of parts procurement programs, such as State Farm Insurance’s
PartsTrader initiative, on all areas of the collision repair industry—from shops to parts suppliers. Attendees will also hear firsthand accounts from shops in the program’s test markets throughout the country. The seminar is being touted as an “electrifying panel discussion on the most controversial issue affecting today’s collision repairers.” According to the AASP/NJ website, “attendees will learn the hard truth of how programs like PartsTrader could affect all facets of the collision repair industry, from the shops to the supply chain, as well as first-hand accounts from shops in these platforms’ test markets throughout the nation. Scheduled speakers include representatives from trade associations and shops from the Chicago, Alabama and Arizona PartsTrader test market areas.”
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