A Dallas couple who suffered crushing injuries in a car accident filed a $1 million lawsuit against John Eagle Collision Center for using a structural adhesive to repair the car's metal structure instead of welding, which is a Honda OEM required procedure.
Matthew and Marcia Seebachan purchased a used 2010 Honda Fit in 2013, which had its roof repaired after hail damage prior to purchase. The repair center, allegedly under influence from insurers, used a 3M adhesive to bond the structure, rather than a weld. When the couple got in a car accident four months after purchasing, the roof collapsed and the doors jammed, trapping the couple inside the burning car.
Originally the Seebachans filed two lawsuits, one against the Dallas auto body shop, and another against State Farm Mutual Automobile Co. for alleging that the insurer influenced the auto repair shop's procedures. In a July 7 deposition, according a Tracy Law Firm news release, the director of John Eagle, Boyce Willis, said the insurance company wouldn’t have paid the bill if the center didn’t perform the repairs as State Farm had specified (with an adhesive) as opposed to the OEM procedures.
The lawsuit against State Farm was later dismissed, and is expected to be refiled. The plaintiffs also claim, according to some reports, that 3M will be apart of the refiled lawsuit.
