A longtime New York auto body shop owner who has
successfully won over $1 million from insurance companies announced recently
lawsuits seeking nearly $3 million from the trio of State Farm, Allstate and
Adirondack Insurance.

Mike Orso, the president of Nick Orso’s Body Shop of
Syracuse, New York, is suing the insurers for a variety of reasons, including
shorting the shop on payments and the continued battle of OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) vs. aftermarket parts.

“In a few words I can sum of these suits,” Mike said in a
press release. “Capping and short payments,” before adding “the longer version,
by and large, they consist of ‘shorting’ or ‘capping’ of labor rate, paint
materials per itemized PaintEx, ‘Data base P-page’ denials, omissions, and a
host of arbitrary caps. Some of the caps are related to clear coat labor and
materials or refusal of necessary body shop materials. Some itemized
deficiencies are for parts cost, OEM vs aftermarket and used parts that we
refuse for relevant reasons.”

The tactics Mike is suing over, unfortunately, aren’t
dissimilar from what Leif’s Auto Collision Centers sees in its Oregon shops. Both Orso
and Leif Hansen see the same “deny, delay, defend” protocol from a myriad of
insurance companies.

Like Orso, Leif sees a problem with some insurers refusing
to pay certain labor rates, which is why he recently had an independent survey
conducted to verify his prices were well within the market. Indeed they are.

Orso is fed up with seeing these same tactics over and over
again and isn’t afraid to head to court seeking remedy.

“We keep seeing the same nonsensical issues over and over
it’s ridiculous,” he said. “I think this going on more and more because the
shops don’t push back or…appraisers keep dictating the same nonsense over and
over in shops everyday everywhere. After a while it becomes the normal
practice. Some shops have never known it differently. We’re told it’s ‘market
price’ that sets rates and fees. We think it’s the allocated and dictated rates
and fees that set the market price. I’m sorry to let the cat out of the bag but
not all shops are the same.”

As dealing with insurers is often times cumbersome, Orso has
an in-house attorney to deal with lawsuits. In a 2010 appeals suit vs.
Adirondack—a lower court ruled Orso didn’t have standing to sue for recover due
to policy restrictions on assignments—Onondaga County Supreme Court Judge
William D. Walsh reversed the lower court’s ruling, affirming that by law,
assignments of claim proceeds on post-lost assignments are indeed allowed under
NYS law regardless of policy language.

Orso’s in-house attorney, Joseph Talarico Jr. said lots of
money was spent on the court process.

“Mike spent big bucks to file that appeal,” Talarico said.
“There is a lot involved in preparing an appeal but he knew a lot was at
stake.  It was clear the insurance side
knew the potential also based on the effort expended trying to defeat us. By
winning Mike cleared the way for himself and others to use the assignment
process.”

The assignment process is important because, as Orso points
out, it allows a person with knowledge to negotiate a car’s repair settlement.

“We are willing to negotiate if authorized,” Orso said. “If
Orso’s handles the loss and negotiates, it’s because most consumers don’t have
the time or expertise to pursue collection on their own.”

While lawsuits with insurance companies who continue these
practices isn’t ideal for Orso, he notes the alternative simply isn’t
sustainable.

“No one likes to go this route, it’s expensive and time
consuming but the cost of doing nothing as you can see by the numbers is
unsustainable.”

“I didn’t wake up one day and say ‘I think I’ll fire off a
few lawsuits,’” Orso continued. But, he mentioned the importance of pleasing
the customer, making sure they have up-to-date equipment to handle repairs and
keeping up-to-date with environmentally friendly products.

“Right now we’re looking into installing two new energy
efficient spray booths,” he said.

As Orso explains, he’s in the business to make money, and
what he’s seeking from insurance companies is that they adhere to the law and
stop with the endless deny, delay, defend tactics.

“Interesting, we’re finding insurance attorneys and deposed
claims personnel are stating that appraisers in the field DO HAVE authority to
settle claims and negotiate,” Orso said. “We all know that’s not what shops
hear or experience every day. We notify every company of deficiencies in
writing. Some requests are disregarded or responded to late by the same repeat
offenders. You know who they are.”

Photo: Onondaga County Court where Orso won an appeals case in 2010.