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Letter to the Editor

Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Avery Verdict

Back on October 8, 1999, State Farm was hit with $1.18 Billion in damages for what a Williamson County judge in Illinois called the fraudulent use of non-OEM parts on policyholders’ vehicles. This month’s overturning of that ruling is anticipated to have a large and positive impact on the aftermarket parts market in the U.S.

The Avery case hinged on how to define “like kind and quality” parts. At that time, the Illinois county court concluded that plaintiffs may be able to show that non-OEM parts are, in fact, categorically inferior through the use of common proof.

Since the Avery decision, courts across the country have wrestled with the certification of classes in aftermarket parts litigation, with some courts following the Avery trend, and others rejecting the notion that all aftermarket crash parts can be proven inferior to OEM parts.

"We welcome this landmark decision by the Court to endorse competition instead of the car company monopoly that has kept the cost of collision repair artificially high and contributed to high numbers of vehicles totaled because of those high costs," said Jack Gillis, Executive Director of the non-profit Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA).

"Hopefully, this decision will reverse a trend in the crash repair industry since the decision by the lower court in 1999," continued Gillis. "Unfortunately, consumers needing crash repairs since 1999 have found themselves victims of this monopoly by paying too much for the parts they need or, worse, having a perfectly repairable car totaled because the parts are so expensive. Ironically, car companies can charge what ever they want for their parts until they get to a price point that forces us to buy another one of their cars. Until now it has been a lose-lose situation for consumers and a win-win for the car companies."

Aftermarket parts manufacturers and suppliers see this decision as a victory for consumers across the country who they say will benefit from the presence of high quality, competitively priced crash repair parts.

Gillis concluded, "It is now up to insurers to step up to the plate and do the right thing by insisting on the use of high quality certified aftermarket crash parts."

INSIGHT will continue to report on the verdict and its impact on the Collision Repair Industry as more comments and information are obtained.

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