By the time Bedford Hills auto body shop owner Greg Coccaro left the courtroom in White Plains after a lawsuit against him by Progressive Insurance was dismissed, his phone was already ringing with congratulatory calls.
“The news rocketed across the country,” Coccaro said after New York State Supreme Court Judge Mary Smith dismissed Progressive”™s case without prejudice on Aug. 5. “This was a big win for our industry because it”™s very seldom that a small, independent business can go up against a billion-dollar corporation and win.”
That suit stems from an incident in 2005 in which a customer of Coccaro”™s wanted to have her car repaired at North State Custom, Coccaro”™s repair shop, but Progressive asked her to use one of its preferred shops.
Ultimately, she went to North State, but the Ohio- based Progressive estimate of $26,000 was less than North State”™s estimate of $34,000. Progressive eventually paid the bill, said Coccaro, but then two months later sued him for fraud, seeking the total amount of the bill plus an additional amount of money.Â
Coccaro was represented by Erica Eversman of Ohio-based Vehicle Information Services and Tony Mamo of the Sleepy Hollow- based law offices of Medina, O”™Brien, Mamo & Garcia.
“On behalf of our whole association and its membership, we congratulate Greg in his result,” said Mike Orso, president of the New York State Auto Collision Technicians Association (NYSACTA). “This was a true David and Goliath battle. This is a huge win for the little guy and a huge win for our industry. If Progressive could do this to Greg, they can do it to anyone.”
In response to Progressive suing him, Coccaro then filed a $40 million countersuit against the insurance company claiming that its “Direct Repair Program” (DRP) is in violation of New York state law.
Part of that countersuit has been dismissed, but three claims totaling $15 million ”“ all related to the way insurance companies allegedly steer people to their direct repair shops ”“ are still around.
One of the original causes of action was steering, a situation where an insurance company illegally coerces people into going to one of its network shops with whom it has a contract to do repairs for discounted prices.
“This has been going on for years, and we feel it”™s detrimental to consumers because the insurers are basically controlling how the cars get repaired,” Coccaro said. “These repairs in direct repair shops are below a quality and safe repair. It”™s not right for consumers, and its not right for shop owners.”
However, that was dismissed when Progressive submitted a motion to dismiss, “because we had no right of private action,” Coccaro said. “It is a state regulation, and only a state regulatory party can sue for a regulation.”
At present, the countersuit is in the discovery phase.
“We absolutely expect to win,” Coccaro said. “We believe that we have what we need to prove our case and this is a situation that”™s rampant in every state in the union. This is not an isolated incident in Westchester County.”
North State has been in business for 35 years and specializes in repairs for high-end vehicles, such as those made by Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar, said Coccaro.
“The entire industry has been watching both of these cases very closely and I”™ve gotten feedback from across the country,” Caccaro said.
Progressive by company policy would not comment on pending and ongoing litigation.Â
 “Greg made us proud,” said Ed Kizenberger, NYSACTA executive director. “He stood tall and never wavered.”
