Standard Brands Decides to Fight Damage Claims
Standard Brands Paint Co. vowed Tuesday to fight in court what it considers “frivolous” injury and damage claims, even though that may be more costly initially than paying modest “nuisance” settlements.
In addition, the company said it would seek to recover its legal costs from those who pursue “malicious prosecutions.”
“We are very tired of the current situation from a financial point of view and from a moral point of view,” said Vince D’Acchioli, Standard Brands vice president for corporate services. This is an effort “to curb what we think is an ugly situation in some cases.”
‘Nuisance Value’
Standard Brands, a do-it-yourself home-decorating firm based in Torrance that has 139 stores in eight Western states, said it hopes other companies will follow its lead and adopt similar tough stances.
“For a company in constant public contact like Standard Brands, these instances (of frivolous claims) are too frequent,” D’Acchioli said.
“Claims are being filed daily with virtually nothing to legally back them up,” he added. “The plaintiff relies on the ‘nuisance value,’ anticipating the defendant will settle out of court rather than incur the oftentimes great cost of going to trial.”
He said between 200 to 220 claims are filed annually against Standard Brands, adding that most are settled for between $3,000 and $4,000.
“These are very significant numbers, and they are getting more significant all the time,” he said.
Review of Claims
In one recent case in which the company successfully defended itself, he said, the individual who brought the claim was ordered to pay Standard Brands more than $6,500 to cover its legal costs.
Under its new policy, he said, the company will establish a committee of internal and outside lawyers to review all claims and determine if they may have any merit.
“If the committee unanimously determines a claim has no legal merit . . . Standard Brands will not settle the claim at any cost” and will take the issue to trial, the company said.
