The Region - News from Feb. 5, 1985

A $208-million federal suit by the Automobile Club of Southern California, charging 50 doctors, lawyers and tow truck operators with accident fraud, was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer on grounds that the charges were too general. However, Pfaelzer gave the Auto Club 120 days to amend and refile the action with more specific charges, and the organization’s attorneys said they plan to do so. In its original petition, the Auto Club had complained that the lawyers, doctors and tow truck operators staged about 1,000 phony traffic accidents and furnished claimants with documents to support fraudulent claims amounting to about $8 million.