Auto Lawsuits
ARCADIA — Thousands of auto repair shops in the Southland are being sued. The businesses say they are targets of an extortion campaign by a Beverly Hills law firm. But, the lawyers say they are doing nothing wrong.
Imagine being sued because you failed to sign a piece of paper. Mechanics in Orange and Los Angeles Counties say that's exactly what's happening to them. A state law, that's been on the books since the depression, is allowing anyone to sue on behalf of the public. But, the auto repair shops say it's gone too far.
A busy street in Arcadia is lined with small auto repair shops and recently, many of these businesses were sued not by a disgruntled customer or a government agency, but by three Beverly Hills attorneys who claim to represent a consumer group. They're named in a massive suit that involves more than two thousand car repair shops across L.A. and Orange Counties.
The reasons: They've appeared on the state's "Bureau of Automotive Repair" website or if they've had any type of complaint lodged against them, even for a minor infraction like failing to have a repair estimate signed, they made the hit list.
Attorney Damian Trevor says, "It is pretty evident that the industry itself is running rampant with incorrect estimates failing to estimate their parts and labor on their invoices and generally conducting themselves in the manner the public deserves."
The three Beverly Hills lawyers with the Trevor Law Group dismiss accusations they're filing frivolous lawsuits. In fact, they say the Orange County District Attorney supports their work.
"Not only did I go to law school for this, but I received -- just on Thursday -- a call from the Orange County District Attorney complimenting our lawsuit and asking if we need any support whatsoever be happy to help us," said Trevor.
But we called the OC District Attorney's office and checked. They faxed over a letter to us and to the Trevor Law Group that says:
It has come to our attention that your firm is using our office's name to show support for your lawsuit. Please understand that the Orange County District Attorney's office does not approve of this. Please accept this letter as a warning to stop using this office's name to further your lawsuit in any way.
Another problem shop owners have with the lawsuit is that they've been offered a chance to settle for thousands of dollars instead of going to court in a legal battle. The shop owners call it a legal shakedown.
Donald Johnson of Johnson Machine Service says, "They called down there and said if you send us $2500 we'll drop the suit." When asked what do you think of that? Johnson responded, "I think that's ridiculous."
The attorney for the auto repair shops Katie Jacobs says, "They are using it, which is a good law, but they're really pushing it and saying you can't afford to fight us so pay us and go away."
Some of the individuals interview for this story thought that this was legalized extortion.
"In terms of legal extortion, I think anybody would be really upset and defensive and definitely start hurling remarks that are negative to other people that are starting to investigate and really expose this industry for what it is," says Trevor.
And even if the owner of a shop has just one complaint filed against them the Trevor Law Group says they're justified in filing a lawsuit.
Just before this story aired, Attorney Damian Trevor asked us not to report on the comments he made to us about the Orange County District Attorney.
Meantime, an investigator for the State Bar Association contacted Eyewitness News about Damian Trevor's comments and the Orange County District Attorney, and she asked us several questions about the matter.
Last Updated: Dec 3, 2002
In this case, however, these scumbags need to be in prison.
Frankly I think they might be safer in prison than on the street. I think that one of these days they are going to end up suing the wrong business.
A few of these little shops that are the targets of these suits are actually fronts for money laundering for organized crime. They might not take too lightly to being the victims of this kind of extortion.
The Mob has a unique way of eliminating nuisances.
Shortly after this, the old man died, and the three attended the funeral. Dutifully, each threw his envelope on top of the casket, and they turned and walked from the gravesite.
The pastor was the first to speak. "I'm ashamed of myself. The church had some serious financial problems recently, and I had to take $20,000 out of the envelope to resolve them. My envelope only had $80,000 in it."
The physician was next. "I, too, had some financial troubles. The IRS was hounding me, so I took $30,000 out of my envelope to pay that bill. My envelope only had $70,000 in it.
The lawyer looked aghast at the other two. "Gentlemen, I'm ashamed of you, not living up to your promises. When I threw my envelope in there, it had a check in it for the entire $100,000."