Judges Order Body Shop Owners to Pay Over $850,000 to California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau in Fraud Cases
Two different San Mateo County Superior Court judges awarded six figure judgments in two California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau fraud cases handled by Thomas Fraysse and Nicole Brown Yuen of Knox Ricksen.
Adrian Bonilla, Sr. and Boni’s Auto Body Shop
Judge George Miram, Presiding Judge of the San Mateo County Superior Court, ordered that Adrian Bonilla, Sr., the former owner of Boni’s Auto Body Shop in South San Francisco, pay $75,367.96 in special damages, $525,000 in punitive damages and costs in the amount of $26,000 to California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau (“CSAA-IIB”) for engaging in fraudulent activities in connection with the repair of automobiles. The court also issued an order enjoining Bonilla from engaging in any aspect of automotive repair and ordered him to identify all vehicles upon which work was performed, to notify all owners of all such vehicles of the lawsuit and the court’s order, and to offer re-inspections and repairs, if necessary, all at Bonilla’s expense. In rendering his decision, Judge Miram stated, “I find gross, reckless indifference to the health and safety of the community, both persons known and unknown, by the conduct described in the complaint and the conduct proven by these papers.” He concluded that the punitive damage award was reasonable, “given the egregious nature of the conduct.”
This case was initiated after CSAA-IIB’s Special Investigation Unit investigated claims involving Boni’s Auto Body, suspecting that the body shop was billing for work which had not been performed, parts which had not been installed, and for aftermarket parts even though the invoice charged for original manufactured equipment. The conduct was reported to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair (“BAR”), which conducted an extensive investigation resulting in charges and a stipulated settlement between the BAR and Bonilla in which Bonilla admitted all of the charges made by the BAR. On October 29, 2003, CSAA-IIB filed suit against Bonilla, alleging conversion, fraud, and violation of California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, the “Unfair Business Practices Act.” Its attorneys, Knox Ricksen LLP, obtained terminating sanctions against Bonilla for failing to comply with orders compelling him to produce documents and provide information in discovery. The court struck Bonilla’s answer to the complaint and sufficient proof of wrongdoing was supplied to the court to justify the imposition of the $626,000 judgment. CSAA-IIB’s SIU devoted more than 267 hours in investigating the fraudulent activities of Bonilla. Their hard work, along with the investigative efforts of the BAR and NICB combined to achieve the successful result.
Edward Drackey and Autobahn Specialties
The 626,000 judgment against Bonilla was the second six-figure judgment obtained by CSAA-IIB’s SIU against a body shop owner in San Mateo County this year. On April 29, 2005, Judge Carol Mittlesteadt of the San Mateo County Superior Court entered judgment in the sum of $252,168 against another South San Francisco Body Shop operator, Edward Drackey, owner of now-defunct Autobahn Specialties. Like Bonilla, SIU personnel at CSAA-IIB uncovered suspected fraudulent activity, reported Drackey to the BAR, cooperated in the BAR investigation, and ultimately filed a civil suit alleging conversion, fraud and violation of Business and Professions Code Section 17200. Knox Ricksen LLP, counsel for CSAA-IIB, negotiated a settlement with Drackey through mediation, in which Drackey agreed to pay CSAA-IIB $100,000 over four years, to specific injunctive relief, and to the imposition of a stipulated judgment if the payments were not made in accordance with the agreement. After Drackey failed to make the first payment under the agreement, CSAA-IIB filed an action in connection with the agreement resulting in the April 29, 2005, judgment.
“Fraud is endemic in the automotive repair business, that’s why the California State Legislature put such strong language in the Automotive Repair Act,” says Thomas E. Fraysse of Knox Ricksen LLP. “CSAA-IIB’s Special Investigation unit is doing the right thing, taking on operators who do unsafe, improper, incompetent and fraudulent auto body repairs — the practices are widespread, they harm thousands of motorists, and the losses, in the aggregate, total in the tens of millions annually. We can never be complacent when it comes to fraud. More companies need to join CSAA-IIB’s SIU in taking a stand against fraudulent body shops.”
