August 15, 2018—A state judge has found a prominent Baton Rouge body shop in violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act and ordered the company to change some of the ways it deals with customers, reported The Advocate.
According to the report, district Judge Todd Hernandez specifically ruled that Owens Collision's refusal to allow customers and their agents to view their vehicles while in Owens' custody "is absurd, unethical, unscrupulous, and has proven to be substantially injurious to its customers."
Hernandez ordered Owens to give insurance adjusters, vehicle owners and their agents full and complete access to any vehicle in Owens' custody during the company's regular business hours.
The judge also said Owens is prohibited from misrepresenting the intent, terms, conditions and obligations of customers signing the company's repair contract.
Owens Collision attorney Ashly Earl said Tuesday the vast majority of the state’s allegations against the company were found to be baseless, and he said Owens will continue to provide quality repair work to its customers, reported The Advocate.
“The real fight here is between Owens Collision and the automobile insurance companies who pushed the Attorney General’s office to bring this suit because they didn’t like it when Louisiana’s citizens had their vehicles repaired by a company that they didn’t control,” Earl alleged.
