In what is believed to be the largest unfair trade practices award ever issued in Connecticut, a Stamford complex litigation judge has awarded $20 million in punitive damages to a class of auto body repair shops.

Waterbury Superior Court Judge Alfred J. Jennings Jr. , in a June 5 opinion, added to the $14.7 million award a jury awarded in November, 2009, when it found the Hartford Fire Insurance Company engaged in a scheme to unfairly decrease the rates it paid for auto body repairs.