A federal judge has turned down a request from Safelite Glass Corp. that would have forced Diamond Triumph Auto Glass to provide its rival with information about an FBI investigation.
Attorneys for S…
A federal judge has turned down a request from Safelite Glass Corp. that would have forced Diamond Triumph Auto Glass to provide its rival with information about an FBI investigation. Attorneys for Safelite wanted to question Diamond Triumph officials about a 13 December 2005 FBI search of Diamond Triumph“s offices, arguing that the information was important to Safelite“s defense of a federal lawsuit that Diamond Triumph filed in 2002. The suit alleged that Safelite, the largest retailer of auto glass repair and installation services in the US, took customers unfairly from Diamond Triumph, which is ranked second in the industry. According to the suit, Safelite operated a call center that directed auto insurance consumers to replacement autoglass companies, including Diamond Triumph. The relationship between the two companies was terminated after Diamond Triumph accused Safelite of steering consumers to Safelite-owned shops by providing misleading information about Diamond Triumph“s services. Diamond Triumph said it lost more than USD 15 million in business because of the practice. After the FBI searched Diamond Triumph“s offices, Safelite attorneys sought information about the nature of the search, saying “speculation” within the auto glass trade industry press was that Diamond Triumph was under investigation for insurance fraud. Safelite attorneys argued that information was important in its defense of the suit because, if Diamond Triumph engaged in insurance fraud, it would hit the company“s profits and thus the amount of damages it allegedly sustained. Safelite attorneys also wanted to know if the FBI investigation was looking into its allegations that Diamond Triumph engaged in “commercial bribery” for allegedly offering gift cards to insurance agents as rewards for steering customers to Diamond Triumph. But Diamond Triumph attorneys argued that Safelite“s allegations were “pure conjecture” that was not supported by the facts. Diamond Triumph has admitted it is being investigated by the US Department of Justice, but the company itself does not know the nature of the investigation because the search warrant affidavits remain sealed, attorneys said in court papers. As for the gift cards, Diamond Triumph has acknowledged the program existed, but maintains it was legal. In an order issued 6 May 2006, US District Judge James Munley agreed with Diamond Triumph. Munley said Safelite“s argument that release of the FBI information “may uncover information” relevant to the case is insufficient, particularly since no charges have been filed.