DA's Allege Vacaville Midas Store Owner Violated 'Numerous' Laws

NORTH BAY, CA — District attorney's office in Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties filed a lawsuit last week against the owner of Midas franchise stores in Napa, Petaluma and Vacaville. Allegations made in the complaint were based on investigations by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, as well as the respective DA's offices, into customer complaints against the three Midas stores, Napa County DA Allison Haley said in a news release.

The consumer protection complaint was filed against CRC Luxury Motors, LLC, which owns the Midas/SpeeDee franchise store located at 1797 Soscol Ave. in Napa and Midas franchise stores on Old Redwood Highway in Petaluma and E. Monte Vista in Vacaville; and Curtis Correll, whom according to Haley, controls the day-to-day operation of the Napa Midas store.

The DA's offices allege that CRC and Correll "engaged in numerous violations of the Automotive Repair Act, the Hazardous Waste Control Act, and the false advertising and unfair competition laws, including that defendants performed unnecessary, unwarranted, or unapproved repairs and negligently performed certain repairs."

Haley's office did not provide specifics about the alleged violations.

Reached Tuesday, Correll — listed among the owners of CRC Luxury Motors LLC —said he could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit until he spoke with his attorney and with the Midas corporate office.

"I haven’t even read it," Correll told Patch. "For me to comment would be pointless."

The Napa DA's Office issued a news release Thanksgiving week about the consumer complaint lawsuit, and Correll said he learned of the suit from reading local news reports.

Correll said he is aware that the court complaint involves an accusation about an automotive repair but that it will be about a week before he could provide comment. He needs time to review the alleged violations and compare them to the state's rules and regulations, he said.

The legal issue is twofold, as it involves a settlement just reached with Midas International Corporation, the franchisor of Midas stores. According to Haley, in a complaint alleging "Midas International was aware of, facilitated and benefited from CRC and Correll’s violations of law," Midas International agreed to pay $150,000 for customer restitution and $50,000 in civil penalties.

"Midas International worked cooperatively with the District Attorney’s offices throughout the settlement process," Haley said.

In response to a media inquiry from Patch, Midas International Corporation spokesperson Jamie Levin sent the following statement:

Midas locations are independently owned and operated. Since inception, more than 60 years ago, Midas has taken great pride in building trusted customer relationships based on reliability and professional service.

Regarding the incident in California, it is important to recognize that these are isolated incidents with one franchisee. Midas has specific protocols in place for this franchisee that should ensure that service issues that may be involved here do not arise in the future. The allegations are serious; we do not condone them; and, in fact, Midas has worked for more than a year with a representative of the Napa County District Attorney's Office, Consumer Affairs Division, to assist in the resolution entered by the court. Midas will continue to work with the District Attorney to address the allegations brought against this franchisee. As the franchisor, we have taken and will continue to take necessary action to address the situation. We continue to cooperate with local leadership and the California Bureau of Automotive Repair to maintain our industry leading reputation that we have worked so hard to build and to work with the local government to resolve any outstanding customer issues.

As an organization, Midas is not admitting any liability or fault. As recognized in the final judgment from the County of Napa's District Attorney's office, "the Parties enter this Stipulation and Judgement pursuant to a settlement of certain disputed claims between them as alleged in the Complaint. Nothing in the Stipulation or Judgment shall be construed as an admission or denial by Defendant Midas International Corporation of any fact, issue of law, or violation of law alleged generally or specifically in the Complaint."

DA Haley said any customers of the Napa, Petaluma or Vacaville Midas stores who believe they were victims of unlawful practices could be eligible for restitution.

Customers may file a complaint with the Bureau of Automotive Repair and/or the Napa, Solano or Sonoma District Attorney’s offices regarding the defendants’ "unnecessary, unwarranted, unapproved or negligently performed services along with adequate documentation to support their complaint," Haley said.

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