“Five major automobile manufacturers – BMW of North America, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen Group of America, and Volvo – and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently entered into voluntary framework agreements to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually through model year 2026. This follows the agreement-in-principle that CARB and the automakers reached in July 2019 in anticipation of the Trump Administration’s plans to promulgate less-restrictive light-duty vehicle GHG emissions standards, reports Joshua H. Van Eaton, Daniel B. Schulson and Anthony G. Papetti in Beveridge & Diamond’s News Alert.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized in September 2019 the first part of the Safer, Affordable, Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule. Specifically, Part I of the SAFE Rule withdrew California’s 2013 Clean Air Act Section 209(b) waiver, which permitted California to establish GHG emissions standards and Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates. This rule is currently being challenged by 24 states and environmental groups.”

Read the article.

“In CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. et al v. Steward Health Care System LLC, the Delaware Court of Chancery examined who was an intended third-party beneficiary of an indemnification provision in an Asset Purchase Agreement,” writes Steve Quinlivan in Stinson’s Blog.

“The dispute arose in a transaction where Steward agreed to purchase substantially all the assets of certain hospitals owned by CHS.”

“Specifically, the APA listed a series of ‘Seller Entities’ that would ‘sell to [Steward] . . . substantially all of [their] assets . . . which are . . . used in connection with . . . [a] Healthcare Business.'”

“Steward agreed to ‘assume . . . the future payment and performance of . . . all obligations accruing . . . after the Effective Time with respect to the Assumed Contracts.'”

Read the article.

“Business owners in the U.S. are often faced with various legal problems that can be crippling to their business. One of the best ways for them to circumvent these legal problems is to identify potential problem areas early and prepare for them by having a trusted business lawyer,” discusses Jacob Maslow in LegalScoops Practice.

He lists seven most common legal issues that businesses can avoid.

Read the article.

“A deadlocked Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday voted to let stand a state Superior Court ruling overturning a $21 million bad faith ruling against Nationwide,” reports John Huetter in RDN Repairer Driven News.

“The Superior Court had held in a 2-1 2018 decision that Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Sprecher overreached in a 2015 ruling on Nationwide’s behavior related to a Jeep left unsafe after repairs tied to a Blue Ribbon auto body shop.”

“The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared itself ‘divided in a fashion which prevents a majority disposition’ and therefore dismissed the appeal by the Jeep’s lessee. (Justice Christine Donohue didn’t participate in the case.) The move means the Superior Court decision remains intact.”

Read the article.

“An overbilling lawsuit filed against K&L Gates on Monday alleges the law firm used multiple techniques to increase its fees fraudulently while representing a company in a suit over a failed lease agreement,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s  News.

“The Aug. 24 suit, filed in the District of Utah’s Central Division, says K&L Gates billed $1.6 million in legal fees between May 2016 and October 2016, even though it was not hired to be the primary law firm in the representation.”

“The suit was filed by Chicora Life Center and its owner, Chicora Garden Holdings. Chicora Life Center’s manager is lawyer and developer Douglas Durbano, who announced a congressional run in January but failed to get on the primary ballot, the Deseret News reported in May.”

Read the article.

“Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced an $85 million multistate settlement with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Honda of America Mfg., Inc., over allegations Honda concealed safety issues related to defects in the frontal airbag systems installed in certain Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the United States. The systems were designed and manufactured by Takata Corporation, a long-time Honda supplier, and were first installed in Honda vehicles in the 2001 model year,” was posted in Delaware.gov’s news feeds.

“The settlement, reached between the attorneys general of 43 states and the District of Columbia and Honda, concludes a multistate investigation into Honda’s alleged failure to inform regulators and consumers of that the frontal airbags posed a significant risk of rupture, which could cause metal fragments to fly into the passenger compartments of many Honda and Acura vehicles. The ruptures have resulted in at least 14 deaths and over 200 injuries in the United States alone.”

Read the article.

“Google announced that Halimah DeLaine Prado, a 14-year veteran of the company, has been promoted to serve as its General Counsel. The move would position DeLaine Prado as one of Google’s highest-ranking Black executives at the company,” reports Johan Moreno in Forbes.

“Previously, DeLaine Prado served as a VP of Legal for the company’s product team. She will report to the company’s SVP of Global Public Affairs, Kent Walker.”

“DeLaine Prado’s appointment comes months after the retirement of David Drummond, Alphabet’s former chief legal officer. He departed amid allegations of inappropriate relationships with subordinates during his time at the company.”

Read the article.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the addition of Breen M. Schiller and Nikki E. Dobay to the firm’s Tax Practice Group as State and Local Tax (SALT) partners. Ms. Schiller will join the firm’s Chicago office and Ms. Dobay will join the firm’s Sacramento office in the next few weeks.

Schiller is joining the firm from Horwood Marcus & Berk in Chicago, where she had been the Chair of the SALT practice group. In addition to Schiller’s Illinois tax experience, she has consulted with clients on state and local tax issues across the country, including for several of Eversheds Sutherland’s existing clients. She regularly consults and represents some of the largest taxpayers in the US.

Dobay is joining from the Council On State Taxation (COST), where she had been senior tax counsel. Dobay joins former COST lawyers Jeff Friedman and Todd Lard, both of whom represented COST’s members on state tax matters before joining Eversheds Sutherland. She has extensive Oregon tax experience, including with the state’s newly imposed Commercial Activity Tax. Ms. Dobay also has represented clients on state tax policy matters across the US. Her legislative and regulatory experience will add to the firm’s considerable state tax policy practice.

Eversheds Sutherland’s Tax Practice is comprised of more than 100 attorneys representing many of the world’s largest corporations—including more than 35 of the Fortune 100—in every industry sector and in virtually every area of tax law, on the federal, international, state and local levels. By virtue of the size of its tax practice and its varied client base, Eversheds Sutherland is active in every area of taxation—from planning the most complex corporate tax transactions to representing taxpayers in administrative and judicial tax controversies.

About Eversheds Sutherland
As a global top 10 law practice, Eversheds Sutherland provides legal services to a global client base ranging from small and mid-sized businesses to the largest multinationals, acting for 75 of the Fortune 100, 68 of the FTSE 100 and 113 of the Fortune 200.

With more than 3,000 lawyers, Eversheds Sutherland operates in 68 offices in 32 jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. In addition, a network of more than 200 related law firms, including formalized alliances in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa, provide support around the globe.

Eversheds Sutherland provides the full range of legal services, including corporate and M&A; dispute resolution and litigation; energy and infrastructure; finance; human capital and labor law; intellectual property; real estate and construction; and tax.

Eversheds Sutherland is a global legal practice and comprises two separate legal entities: Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP (headquartered in the UK) and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP (headquartered in the US), and their respective controlled, managed, affiliated and member firms. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland is for description purposes only and does not imply that the member firms or their controlled, managed or affiliated entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. For more information, visit eversheds-sutherland.com.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that John C. Hanson, an attorney in the firm’s Southern Illinois office, has been elected treasurer of the Madison County (Illinois) Bar Association.

A native of Edwardsville, Ill., Hanson previously served as recording secretary for the Madison County Bar Association. He is a member of Greensfelder’s Litigation practice group, representing companies in a variety of commercial litigation matters. Previously, he served as an assistant state’s attorney in the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Hanson received his J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law. He also holds a Master of Arts from Eastern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

The Madison County Bar Association serves more than 400 attorneys and residents of Madison County, which is part of the greater St. Louis metro area.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., founded in 1895, is a full-service law firm with offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Southern Illinois. Greensfelder offers comprehensive legal solutions for clients locally, nationally and internationally. Areas of practice include business services; communications and media; construction; educational, religious and tax-exempt organizations; employee benefits; employment and labor; energy; franchising and distribution; health care; intellectual property; litigation; real estate; securities and financial services; and trusts and estates. Find out more at www.greensfelder.com.

Location Offers Strong Regional Counsel in Complex Commercial Transactions and Options for Preferred Venues

Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C. (Porzio) is delighted to announce that Cheryl A. Santaniello has joined the firm to launch and lead Porzio’s first Delaware office. The new office is part of the firm’s long-term strategy to offer clients expanded services in Delaware and seamless access to its bankruptcy courts. Santaniello brings three decades of legal experience and community service to the position and is a trusted advisor to clients on complex business transactions and acquisitions. The office supports Porzio’s strong bench in bankruptcy in its New Jersey and New York offices, and is positioned to grow with regional lateral recruitment. The new office is located at 300 Delaware Ave., Suite 1220, in Wilmington.

In addition to serving as managing principal of the Wilmington office, Santaniello is a member of Porzio’s Real Estate and Bankruptcy Practice Groups. Highly regarded for her practice in the areas of business transactions, commercial real estate, lending and creditors rights, Santaniello represents commercial purchasers, sellers, lenders, developers, landlords, and tenants in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Santaniello serves as outside general counsel to clients in a variety of industries, helping them navigate their day-to-day operations and providing legal opinions to lenders and rating agencies on entity formation and existence, authority, bankruptcy-remoteness and non-consolidation.

Santaniello received her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and her B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

About Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C.
At Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C., a dynamic approach to problem-solving and client service creates the energy and passion that form the foundation of the firm. Porzio meets clients’ rapidly changing needs by realigning our considerable resources to address demanding matters. Porzio is a business-oriented multidisciplinary law practice where attorneys collaborate with each other and with clients to find solutions to challenges and problems. Porzio strives to incorporate diversity and inclusion in its daily practices to create an enriched workplace that benefits the firm’s clients. With more than 90 lawyers throughout offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Morristown, Princeton, and Ocean City, New Jersey; Westborough, Massachusetts; Wilmington, Delaware; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the firm is committed to serving clients, providing high-quality work and achieving results. Porzio provides a broad array of litigation, corporate, transactional and counseling services to clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to individuals to public entities. For additional information, please visit www.pbnlaw.com.

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that G. Todd Butler, a partner at Phelps Dunbar LLP in Jackson, Mississippi, has joined the IADC, a preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys representing corporate and insurance interests.

Butler’s practice focuses on civil rights and employment defense as well as appellate litigation. He has served as counsel in more than 100 trial court cases and presented appellate arguments in both federal and state courts throughout the United States.

Butler serves as general counsel to the Mississippi Municipal Liability Plan, the Mississippi Municipal Workers’ Compensation Group, and the Mississippi Municipal Service Company. He is a member of the Federalist Society and formerly served as chairman of the Mississippi Bar’s Appellate Practice Section. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law and included in the peer-reviewed Best Lawyers in America listings.

Prior to beginning his practice, Butler served as a law clerk to Judge Leslie H. Southwick on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He received his J.D. (summa cum laude) from Mississippi College School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Science (summa cum laude) from Mississippi State University, where he served as president of the Student Government Association.

About the International Association of Defense Counsel
The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC has members who hail from six continents, 51 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states. The core purposes of the IADC are to enhance the development of skills, promote professionalism, and facilitate camaraderie among its members and their clients, as well as the broader civil justice community. For more information, visit www.iadclaw.org.

“While the number of cars on the road has steadily increased over the past several decades, the rate of fatal accidents has gone down significantly. In large part, this decrease is due to advancements in life-saving technology, most notably, airbags,” writes Richard P. Console, Jr. in The National Law Review.

“According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), between 1987 and 2017, airbags saved over 50,000 lives. Of course, airbags are only effective when they work correctly. While there are several reasons why an airbag may not deploy, the most common reason is that the airbag was defective.”

“If a driver or passenger is injured in a motor vehicle accident in which the airbag did not deploy, they may be entitled to monetary compensation through various sources. Of course, if another driver caused the accident, an accident victim can pursue a claim against that party. However, there may be other claims, as well. One often overlooked claim is a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the vehicle or the manufacturer of the airbag, or both.”

Read the article.

“A tax consultant should not have been found liable for misappropriating trade secrets after he used his ex-employer’s allegedly proprietary ‘tax arbitrage’ strategy in providing services to its former clients, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled,” reports Eric T. Berkman in New England In-House.

“The Puerto Rico-based plaintiff, TLS Management and Marketing Services, helped mainland U.S. clients profit by availing themselves of Puerto Rico’s lower tax rates through a series of complex transactions between TLS and the client.”

“After defendant Ricky Rodriguez, a TLS executive, left the company, TLS accused him of misappropriating trade secrets by utilizing the company’s strategy (which TLS referred to as its “U.S. Possession Strategy” or “the Strategy”) to provide tax services to former TLS clients using TLS documents with which the clients provided him. The company also accused him of misappropriating trade secrets by downloading the company’s Capital Preservation Report — or CPR — documents to analyze client tax situations.”

Read the article.

“NYSE-listed Turning Point Brands has picked Brittani Cushman to be its next general counsel,” reports Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“James Dobbins, who is senior vice president, general counsel and secretary with the company, will retire on October 31 after more than two decades leading Turning Point Brands’ legal and governance functions.”

“Cushman is currently senior vice president of external affairs in the company’s legal department. She becomes deputy general counsel immediately, working with Dobbins on the transition before he departs.”

Read the article.

“Social distancing and stay-at-home measures enacted in the wake of COVID-19 have forced many businesses to significantly change the way they operate and communicate. Nowhere is this change more noticeable than in the world of negotiations, which have moved almost entirely to digital platforms,” discusses a post in Davis Wright Tremaine’s Corporate and Business Transactions Blog.

“Businesses that are quick to adjust and adapt have an advantage over those which lag behind.”

This post provides “some tips on how to effectively conduct virtual negotiations—where communications involve the ability to hear and see (at least a headshot of) the other parties.”

Read the article.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Alicia N. Netterville and Christina M. Seanor, associates in the firm’s Jackson office, have been appointed to committees of the Mississippi Bar for the 2020-2021 bar year, beginning Sept. 9.

Netterville has been appointed to the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, which investigates all claims concerning the unauthorized practice of law in Mississippi and makes recommendations to the Board of Bar Commissioners in regard to the unauthorized practice of law. It has the authority to take steps to prevent the unauthorized practice of law in Mississippi.

Netterville is a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy, Litigation, and Labor and Employment Practice Groups. She assists clients with minimizing exposure under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including helping clients analyze their data collection activities to determine whether they are subject to or exempt from CCPA compliance. She also litigates claims involving anti-trust, mass torts, Section 1983, and false claims.

Netterville received her J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Seanor has been appointed to the Women in the Profession Committee. The committee assesses and identifies issues related to the status of women in the legal profession, including barriers that may prevent women attorneys from full participation in the work, responsibilities, and rewards of the profession. It also works to identify quality-of-life issues that affect all lawyers. The committee also makes recommendations to the Bar for action to create solutions to problems observed by the committee and to address issues raised by the committee.

Seanor is a member of the Litigation Practice Group. She represents corporate clients in intellectual property and competitive practices litigation, with a focus on licensing agreements, unfair competition and trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, and business torts. She also represents financial services clients against consumer claims, including RESPA, FCRA, FDCPA and TCPA. In addition, Seanor represents healthcare clients regarding state and federal regulations, and regularly represents healthcare clients in Section 1983 civil-rights suits by prison inmates.

Seanor earned her J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

Newark, New Jersey, August 26, 2020 – William J. Palatucci, one of New Jersey’s most prominent and widely respected attorneys, is joining McCarter & English LLP as a partner in the firm’s Business Litigation Practice, effective August 31, where he will also be supporting the firm’s rapidly expanding Government Affairs Practice. Since working for Gov. Tom Kean in 1985 and later as a law partner with Gov. Chris Christie, Palatucci has developed a well-earned reputation for his strategic advice and pragmatic approaches to complex legal, public policy and governmental initiatives.

McCarter’s Managing Partner Joe Boccassini said, “We are honored to welcome Bill to our team. His extensive experience with legal and public policy issues that affect both private and public sector clients is unparalleled. Our national base of clients will greatly benefit from his knowledge of how major public policy decisions may impact their businesses.”

Palatucci’s legal experience is wide and diverse. He served as General Counsel to the Trump Transition Committee from June 2016 through the election in November 2016; he served as General Counsel to Governor Chris Christie’s presidential campaign, and in the private sector served as General Counsel to Community Education Centers in Roseland, New Jersey. Prior to joining McCarter, Palatucci spent almost eight years at Gibbons, P.C. in the firm’s Corporate Practice, where he handled a variety of issues for clients in a wide range of industries, often focusing on the regulatory aspects of transactions, land use matters or state licensing requirements.

Palatucci serves as the Republican National Committeeman for New Jersey, a position he has held since 2010. In addition to his work for Governor Kean, for the past nearly 40 years, he has been closely involved in many significant federal and state elections, with leadership roles in the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, and served as Chairman of Governor Chris Christie’s re-election campaign in 2013.

In addition to his legal and political experience, Palatucci currently serves as a member of the Seton Hall University School of Law Board of Visitors, the National Advisory Board for the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, and is Chair of the University of Phoenix Board of Trustees for its Jersey City, NJ, campus. Palatucci is on the Board of Trustees of Turning Point, Inc., a nonprofit drug and alcohol addiction treatment center that assists more than 3,500 New Jersey residents each year.

Palatucci has been recognized by NJBIZ on its “Law Power 50” and “100 Most Powerful People in New Jersey Business” lists as well as by ROI-NJ on its “Influencers Power List.”  Palatucci earned his B.A. from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.

In 2014, Palatucci was presented with the Seton Hall University School of Law’s Distinguished Graduate Award. In 2014, he and Senator Cory Booker were honored with the annual “Good Guy Award” from the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey.