Family-owned towing company from Massachusetts files complaint against the National Insurance Crime
William E. Johnson: (work) 413-534-5373 Attorney Patrick Matthews: (work) 508-676-6900 On or about, July 18, 2014, Attorney Patrick Matthews filed a complaint in Superior Court, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The suit was filed on behalf of Pleasant Street Auto Body & Repair Inc., DBA Hampshire Towing, a family owned company headed by William E. Johnson, President. The suit in part alleges that the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and Amica Insurance intentionally interfered with a towing contract the Johnson family had with the City of Holyoke. One of the many counts listed in the suit, is tortious interference with a contractual relationship. William E. Johnson (Bill) stated in part, “I hope this suit sends a clear and concise message to the NICB and the insurance industry that the intentional meddling in contractual relationships that a towing company is party to will not be tolerated. I wonder how many times the NICB or an insurance company has contacted a towing company's customer or municipality they work for and has made unfounded claims of impropriety? That is something I would like to know!” Johnson describes the situation by stating, “the NICB is funded by eleven hundred (1,100) insurance companies and has a budget of forty two million dollars ($42,000,000) per year. I only have a fleet of just over twenty trucks, making this a truly David vs. Goliath case. My family suffered as a result of this external interference for eighteen (18) months when we were removed from the towing rotation in the City of Holyoke. I had to prove that we did nothing wrong, and my family is grateful to Mayor Morse for taking the time to understand the issues and reinstate our company. I hope this suit will help guarantee no other towing company will have to endure the financial and emotional hardship that we did.” Attorney Matthews, who represents towing and recovery companies throughout the country, explained, “the behavior of Amica and the NICB was absolutely outrageous. The documentary evidence indicates that not only did the two companies conspire to scuttle Hampshire Towing's city contract and alter the terms and conditions of Holyoke’s towing contract going forward, but also intentionally attempted to solicit dozens of other insurance companies in New England to assist them.” Matthews gives a lot credit to the Johnson Family for standing up for themselves and defending their reputation against these two powerful organizations. “We do not expect this will be any easy battle given the insurance industries resources,” admits Matthews, “but we are more than up for the fight.”
