GEICO Ins. Co. v. Glendale Body Shop, Inc.

Citations

• 2026 Ohio 899

Syllabus

R.C. 4513.70 — STORAGE FACILITY — TOWING SERVICE — FOR-HIRE MOTOR CARRIER — REASONABLE CHARGES — EVIDENCE: Defendant car repair shop is not a \towing service\ under R.C. 4513.70 where the shop was hired to facilitate having the insured's car towed by a third-party towing company but did not itself carry or transport the insured's car. Defendant car repair shop is a \storage facility\ under R.C. 4513.70 where nothing in R.C. 4513.70 prevents the shop from functioning as both a \storage facility\ and a \repair facility\ under R.C. Ch. 4513 and where the evidence shows that the shop charged storage fees from the first day that the insured's vehicle arrived at the shop, included storage fees as a part of the repair costs in the contract for repairs, and accepted vehicles that were \an obvious total loss\ from plaintiff insurer on other claims. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that storage charges for ten days was reasonable under the circumstances where the testimony established that storage is typically not charged until there is a total-loss determination and plaintiff insurer presented evidence that the ten days of storage arises from the date the insured's vehicle was determined to be a total loss with a \few extra days\ covered in the beginning.