State Farm Appeals After-Market Parts Case

Late last week, attorneys for State Farm reportedly filed an appeal of the recent $1.2 billion judgment against the insurer. The action against State Farm was for its practice of requiring shops to use aftermarket auto parts during repairs. Plaintiffs had said the parts were inferior, and a jury and the judge agreed.

The appeal was filed Friday in Williamson County Circuit Court and will be forwarded to the Illinois Appellate Court in Mount Vernon within 60 days, court officials told a newswire reporter Monday. Among other things, the appeal claims none of the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit proved they were injured in cars repaired with generic parts, according to State Farm spokesman Dave Hurst.

``The plaintiffs' attorneys also said they would prove that all generic parts are inferior to brand-name parts and they failed to do so,'' Hurst told the Associated Press today. He said the appeal also cites the company's ``customer satisfaction'' guarantee, which would have allowed plaintiffs to return parts they were not happy with. Hurst described the policy like this: "If a generic part is put on the car and after that they have a problem with it, then they can come to us and we will either repair or replace it."

In October, an Illinois jury uninimously ruled against State Farm and awarded $456 million in a state class-action lawsuit, Snider v. State Farm, involving what could be millions of insuerds. The judge added $730 million to the tab.

Insurers and trade groups have said the practice of using aftermarket parts is an appropriate way to keep repair costs down. They say quality standards are maintained by manufacturers of the non-automaker parts. Paul Blume, Jr., vice president of the American Insurance Association, midwest region, said in a statement when the original jury veridcit was reached, "Non-OEM parts have been proven again and again to be safe, and to provide consumers with significant cost savings."