More legal manouvering from insurers in the US as they again seek dismissal of antitrust lawsuits in Florida, according to Collision Week.
The legal battle intensifies as over 20 motions to dismiss were filed in other antitrust suits against insurers last week.
More than 10 insurance companies that are named as defendants in A&E Auto Body, Inc., et al. v. 21st Century Centennial Insurance Company, et al., filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint filed last month in the case. The lawsuit is one of more than twenty antitrust suits brought by collision repair facilities against auto insurers that have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Regarding the antitrust allegations the defendants argue in the motion that plaintiffs’ second amended complaint fails to adequately allege any facts of an antitrust conspiracy or an express agreement to fix reimbursement rates.
The motion concludes, “After three tries, it is apparent that any further amendment of Plaintiffs’ Complaint would be futile. Accordingly, the Court should dismiss all of Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendants with prejudice.”
Also, in late February, insurers named as defendants in several of the other lawsuits that were consolidated in the multi have also filed more than 20 motions to have those suits dismissed citing, among other items, issues raised by U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell’s January dismissal of the charges in first amended complaint in the A&E Auto Body suit.
The volume of motions to dismiss caused the collision repair shop plaintiffs’ counsel to file a motion on Wednesday asking for a one-week extension to respond to the outstanding motions before the court.
The request for additional time lists twelve different suits where multiple motions for dismissal have been filed and states that 'In total, approximately twenty nine (29) motions to dismiss were filed in the various listed causes. Although Plaintiffs’ counsel are diligently attempting to respond appropriately to all motions, the volume of motions makes that impossible to perform in fourteen days.'