Oct. 4, 2017—Todd Tracy and John Eagle Collision Center released a joint statement Tuesday, agreeing to work together "to improve safety standards in the nation's collision repair industry," according to Dallas News.
The joint statement comes just one day after a Texas jury found that John Eagle Collision owes $31.5 million for performing an improper repair that led to a couple being trapped in a burning car.
The lawsuit gained national media attention in August after Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, who were trapped in the crushed, burning 2010 Honda Fit after a collision, found that John Eagle Collision Center (Dallas) had used glue instead of welds when replacing a hail-damaged steel roof on the vehicle prior to the accident.
According to the statement, John Eagle wanted to settle the case.
“Mr. Tracy acknowledged that despite Mr. Eagle’s sincere desire to settle the claim, his insurance carriers elected to proceed with the trial,” Eagle and Tracy Law Firm wrote.
In the statement, Eagle pledged to “encourage the collision repair industry across the nation to follow OEM bulletins instead of insurance companies’ mandates when they repair vehicles."
“We salute John Eagle for his leadership in the wake of this tragedy to act as a safety beacon for the collision repair industry,” Tracy said.
Now that John Eagle has been assigned 75 percent liability in the case, Erica Eversman, a collision repair attorney for Vehicle Information Services, says that the verdict could become a watershed moment that will affect collision-insurer relationships and increase public awareness of OEM procedures. It has the potential to lead to a class action lawsuit, she said.
