“The coronavirus pandemic has no doubt caused many businesses – particularly smaller and mid-sized businesses, and those in industries more negatively affected – to take unprecedented action just to survive. For many businesses, a nationwide lockdown has caused them to revisit all of their contracts to determine how the pandemic will impact their business agreements, and what happens if they aren’t able to perform as agreed,” reports Sullivan Worcester ‘s News.

“Strategies have included cash conservation (to the extent businesses have cash on hand) or defaulting on performance, payment or collection obligations under existing contracts. In response to the measures being taken, it is likely that legal action will follow in the form of collection actions or other lawsuits and bankruptcies; even where payment obligations are secured, it is unlikely that exercising those rights would give meaningful recourse to a secured party in this environment.”

“In response to these issues as they arise in this particular environment, a standstill agreement might be an appropriate solution. Using a standstill agreement provides a temporary workout between parties can help avoid defaults under contracts and the ensuing consequences, all while preserving existing business relationships, so as to avoid these potentially fatal pitfalls.”

Read the article.

“Clear contract language is important.  While clear contract language is important in all cases, it is especially important when it comes to determining how you are to get PAID for your work.  An ambiguity with respect to the manner in which you get paid is counter-productive.  Likewise, not appreciating clear language in your contract regarding the manner in which you get paid is counter-productive.  If you are doing unit cost work where you are getting paid based on a defined measurement, you want to understand how that measurement is calculated,” reports David Adelsten in Florida Construction Legal Updates.

“In a dredging dispute before the United States Court of Federal Claims … a contractor was hired by the government to dredge a creek.  The contractor was to be paid a unit cost for dredging based on a comparison of before and after survey data.  In particular, the contract stated the contractor would be paid ‘measured by the cubic yard in place by computing the volume between the bottom surface shown by soundings of the last surveys made before dredging, and the bottom surface shown by the soundings of surveys made as soon as practicable after the work has been completed.'”

“A dispute arose when the government paid the contractor for 46,065 cubic yards of material removed from the creek. The contractor claimed it was underpaid.”

Read the article.

“As a general matter, the federal government cannot be sued for damages without its consent. Congress has waived its immunity through several statutes. For example, the Federal Torts Claims Act provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for certain types of torts. And the Supreme Court has also implied certain waivers of sovereign immunity. Through so-called Bivens claims, plaintiffs can seek monetary damages for violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendment. But the Supreme Court has held that there is no waiver of sovereign immunity for suits based on other provisions of the Bill of Rights, such as the Eighth Amendment. And in recent years, the Supreme Court has put the brakes on future Bivens claims. This much is straightforward doctrine,”discusses Josh Blackman in Reason.

“But what about the Takings Clause? It is the only provision of the Bill of Rights that clearly states landowners are entitled to monetary damages: ‘nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.’ Is the Takings Clause a self-executing waiver of sovereign immunity?”

“In traditional eminent domain questions, the issue of sovereign immunity is irrelevant. Why? The government initiates a condemnation proceeding against a landowner. In other words, a private landowner does not need to sue the federal government. But there is another common type of takings case, known as an inverse condemnation suit. Here, the government regulates a person’s property, but insists there is no taking. Then, the landowner sues the federal government, alleges a violation of the Takings Clause, and seeks ‘just compensation.'”

Read the article.

Brouse McDowell is pleased to welcome Julie Kaplan Zurn and Douglas G. Walters as new additions to our Business Restructuring, Bankruptcy, and Commercial Law Practice Group.

Joining Brouse as a Partner in our Akron office, Kaplan Zurn brings a wealth of experience advising debtors, creditors, and trustees in bankruptcy in Federal and State Courts; successfully advising clients through a range of legal issues related to financial difficulties, including, out of court negotiation with creditors to modify or restructure debt, recovery of disputed receivables, and the wind down of small businesses; and continuing to serve as Chapter 7 Panel Trustee for the Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Ohio since November 1, 2019. Prior to joining Brouse, Kaplan Zurn ran her own private practice. She is deeply familiar with all aspects of administering bankruptcy cases, as she is leveraging 10+ years as a Career Law Clerk to Hon. Marilyn Shea-Stonum in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Akron. Kaplan Zurn is the founder of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation’s Northeast Ohio Network.

Kaplan Zurn received her BA from the University of Wisconsin, and her JD, cum laude, from The Ohio State University School of Law.

Walters joins as an Associate in our Cleveland Office. He joins Brouse from a large Cleveland-based law firm where he practiced in the Business Restructurings, Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy Group. Walters has experience advising clients in complex workouts, debt restructurings and reorganizations, secured lenders in bankruptcy proceedings, and debtors in Chapter 11 bankruptcies. He has successfully utilized various judgment-creditor remedies, while representing large, mid-sized, domestic and foreign companies in a multitude of cases.
Walters received his BA, cum laude, from The Ohio State University, and his JD from the Wake Forest University School of Law.

Brouse McDowell’s Business Restructuring, Bankruptcy & Commercial Law Practice assists clients in transactions, multi-party negotiations and litigation concerning the financing of their operations, business reorganization, and debt restructuring, as well as their commercial relationships with customers and vendors. Our attorneys regularly handle issues arising under the Bankruptcy Code and state receivership statutes, as well as those arising under the Uniform Commercial Code, including sales of goods, leases, checks and negotiable instruments, loan transactions, letters of credit, and security interests and liens.

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP congratulates its client, Northwest Fiber d/b/a Ziply Fiber, on its acquisition of operations and assets of Frontier Communications in the Pacific Northwest. DWT represented Ziply in securing all required state and local regulatory approvals required to consummate the transaction, which will position the company to deliver high-speed broadband service to roughly a half-million customers across Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho.

The transaction, which was first announced last year, is valued at $1.352 billion, with an additional $500 million being invested in network and service improvements for a total commitment of approximately $2.0 billion. Ziply Fiber, based in Kirkland, Wash., is backed by global private investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners, LP, and numerous other investors.

Led by Halm and Trinchero, the team of Davis Wright Tremaine professionals on both coasts that secured approvals for the deal includes Dan Reing, Alan Galloway, Heather Moelter, Ashlee Aguilar, Alicia LeDuc, and Ryan Appel.

DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Brussels-based lawyer Orestis Omran has been promoted to partner as part of the firm’s annual promotion round, effective 1 May 2020. This promotion brings the total number of partners in Belgium to 22.

Orestis joined DLA Piper’s Litigation and Regulatory practice in 2017. Qualified in New York and Greece, his practice focuses on EU regulatory matters in the energy, banking and infrastructure sectors. He has very broad experience in contentious and non-contentious matters including in formal and informal state aid and other investigations before the European Commission, national regulatory authorities and subsequent proceedings before the EU Courts. Orestis has also built a track record of successful client representations in the broader South Eastern European area and particularly in Greece where he has been leading significant projects during the past years. His clients include major international corporates, financial institutions, Governments and public authorities.

DLA Piper’s Co-Country Managing Partners in Belgium, Annelies Verlinden and Kristof De Vulder, commented: “Orestis is a very talented and hardworking lawyer. His deep knowledge of EU law, analytical thinking and entrepreneurial mentality along with his sector expertise and consistently excellent client service make him a key team member. His promotion demonstrates our commitment to further strengthening our highly-regarded EU law team in Brussels and we are delighted to welcome him to the partnership.”

Globally DLA Piper has promoted 67 lawyers, across many of the firm’s practice areas in 35 different offices throughout 13 countries.

Read the article.

“Federal authorities in New York have charged a Santa Rosa attorney with conspiring to sell one million protective masks in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic at a steep markup, in violation of the Defense Production Act invoked by President Donald Trump,” reports Kerry Benefield in The Press Democrat.

“Kent Bulloch, 56, of Santa Rosa, and William Young Sr., 64, of Arizona, are accused in a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in Brooklyn of attempting to sell the masks at prices inflated by as much as 50%, according to a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in New York. Bulloch was arrested in Santa Rosa on Monday night.”

“Bulloch and Young allegedly sought investors to sell one million KN95 respirator masks at double or triple their purchase price, according to the complaint. Bulloch allegedly tried to conceal the markup and the scheme by creating an escrow agreement that falsely stated the profits would not exceed the federal limit of 10%, according to the complaint.”

Read the article.

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and federal authorities have recognized a need for as many trained, experienced, and qualified health care providers as possible. To ensure those providers are fully enabled to provide critical care in response to COVID-19, several laws limit the tort liability of health care providers providing services in response to COVID-19,” writes Jeremy Belanger and Mark Wilson in Dickinson Wright’s Health Law Blog.

“Under Section 7 of Executive Order 2020-30, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer used the Emergency Management Act, MCL 30.401 et seq., to limit the liability of health care professionals to provide care. Specifically, the Order provides: [A]ny licensed health care professional or designated health care facility that provides medical services in support of this state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is not liable for an injury sustained by a person by reason of those services, regardless of how or under what circumstances or by what cause those injuries are sustained.”

Read the article.

“Skydance Media, the company behind movies including the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, has boosted its in-house legal team with the recruitment of Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon to the newly created position of general counsel and the promotion of Jun Oh to president of global business and legal affairs. McKinnon and Oh both report to Skydance Media president and COO Jesse Sisgold,” reports Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“McKinnon is tasked with providing legal and strategic guidance on major corporate transactions such as acquisitions, financing and joint ventures, and oversees corporate governance and employment matters.”

“Oh was previously head of theatrical and interactive business affairs. He now has television and animation responsibilities and leads all business and legal affairs for the company related to the development, production and distribution of Skydance’s content divisions.”

“McKinnon previously worked at VICE Media where she was senior vice president and deputy general counsel, overseeing legal issues involving VICE’s strategic projects such as international expansion, joint ventures, market entry, investments, equity raises and acquisitions.”

Read the article.

Buchalter is pleased to announce that it has added four attorneys to its Seattle office – Harold (Hal) E. Snow, Jr., John B. Crosetto, Scott G. Warner, and Paul M. Barba have all joined from Foster Garvey PC.

Snow joins as a Shareholder and a member of the Firm’s Corporate and Tax, Benefits, & Estate Planning Practice Groups. With more than 40 years of experience, he is a trusted advisor to families and business owners in the areas of business succession planning, asset protection planning, wealth transfer, and transfer tax minimization. Snow’s extensive estate planning background also includes succession planning for closely held businesses, including the transfer of ownership to the next generation with minimum estate tax cost. Further, he has significant experience in regulated industries (wine, beer, and spirits, and cannabis industries) Corporate Transactions, Mergers and Acquisitions, Real Estate and Intellectual Property.

Crosetto is a member of the Intellectual Property and Litigation Practice Groups. He represents clients in matters involving trademark, trade secret, trade dress, false advertising, and unfair competition. Crosetto advises startups and established companies, including software and hardware companies, equipment manufacturers, video game developers, and creative firms on licensing, brand development, and brand protection, as well as minimizing litigation risk and finding alternative solutions to intellectual property disputes.

Also joining the Intellectual Property Practice Group, Warner works with start-ups, non-profits and public companies by helping them to register, protect, or sell their intellectual property. He provides practical guidance to clients in all aspects of their intellectual property rights and business transactions, including copyright, trademark, trade secret, licensing and distribution, joint ventures, employment and non-competition, publishing, e-commerce, privacy and data security, web hosting, content development and clearance, and domain disputes. Further, Warner has more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector and is a recognized practitioner in Chambers USA.

As a member of the Tax, Benefits, & Estate Planning practice, Barba focuses on international tax, cross‐border investments and reorganizations, trusts, estate planning, expatriations, and IRS disputes. He advises his clients on evaluating and implementing tax‐related structures for U.S. domestic and international mergers and acquisitions for various purposes, including optimizing effective tax rates, protecting against estate tax, lowering U.S. tax compliance burdens, implementing estate and repatriation plans, and addressing FIRPTA issues.

*Barba’s bar admission to the state of Washington is currently pending.

Tom D’Amore, Managing Partner and owner of D’Amore Law Group, is pleased to announce that on April 21, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a 2019 federal jury verdict of $26.4 million – the largest trucking verdict out of the state of Oregon – in full with no further ability to appeal. D’Amore represented Mr. Matthew Allison, a 27-year-old man who suffer significant injuries and lost his 30-year-old wife Sara Allison in a horrific head-on truck v. car collision caused by the recklessness and prolonged bout of road rage between four commercial truck drivers employed by Horizon Transport Inc. and Smoot Brothers Transportation.

Defendant Horizon Transport, after the trial court denied its motion for a new trial/remittitur, appealed to the Ninth Circuit last summer, but then dismissed its appeal last month. The case is Matthew Allison and Tim Nay, Personal Representative of the Estate of Sara Allison v. Horizon Transport and Smoot Brothers Transportation.

Of note, the plaintiffs shared 70 percent of the $6.5 million punitive damages jury verdict with the State of Oregon pursuant to Oregon law; the shared funds go to the state Crime Victims Fund to pay for care for other victims of crime.

This victory earned D’Amore recognition as a Litigator of the Week runner-up by The Litigation Daily from The American Lawyer.

An attorney for more than 25 years, D’Amore is licensed to practice law in Oregon, Washington and California, and is a board-certified civil trial attorney with the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). D’Amore is also board-certified in trucking injury law by the NBTA. Actively engaged in the plaintiff’s trial bar, D’Amore is a national Board Member, Executive Committee member, and current Budget Chair of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) in Washington, D.C., Past President of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and a member of ABOTA. D’Amore has been selected to the Top 50 Super Lawyers in Oregon for several years including 2020.

About D’Amore Law Group

Since 1992, the D’Amore Law Group has represented thousands of injury victims and their loved ones in Oregon, Washington and California in various complex and catastrophic personal injury matters. Founder Tom D’Amore is dedicated to asserting the rights of clients who have been seriously injured by the negligence and intentional conduct of individual and corporate wrongdoers. The firm handles a wide variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases, in areas including automobile and trucking accidents, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, nursing home and medical negligence, sexual abuse, construction accidents and job site injuries, class action suits and bad faith insurance practices. The firm has locations for meeting clients in Portland, Lake Oswego, and Bend, Oregon, as well as in Vancouver, Washington. For more information, please visit www.damorelaw.com.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Jessica Sparhawk has joined the firm’s Montgomery office as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group.

“We are happy to welcome Jessica to our experienced team of litigators in Montgomery,” said Bradley Montgomery Office Managing Partner Robert Emmett Poundstone IV.

Ms. Sparhawk received her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, where she was a member of the University of Miami Law Review. During law school, she was a clinic intern for The Eleanor R. Cristol and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic. She received her Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from the University of Nevada.

The Litigation Practice Group is Bradley’s largest practice and includes almost half of the firm’s nearly 550 attorneys who represent clients in litigation and arbitration in every U.S. state and federal district court across the country, as well as internationally. Attorneys handle matters in nearly every substantive area of business law and in a wide range of industries, including high-stakes and complex cases.

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.

“New York-based private equity investment firm Harvest Partners has hired Jamie Toothman as general counsel and chief compliance officer. In her new role, Toothman oversees the firm’s legal and compliance work and provides legal support for funds managed by Harvest,” reports Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“Toothman was previously a senior vice president at Oaktree Capital Management, where she managed fund formation and operations, regulatory compliance and other legal issues related to strategies such as private equity and credit opportunities.”

“She started her legal career at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where she advised clients on private and public acquisitions, capital markets and other corporate transactions.”

Read the article.

“Based on a mistake about when a Cook County default judgment became final — plus a 60-cent discrepancy between the amount of the judgment ($238,007.61) and the amount listed in a memorandum of judgment ($238,007.01) that the plaintiffs filed as a lien on the defendant’s real estate in Will County,” reports Steven P. Garmisa in Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s Courts & Cases.

“Leonard and Cecilia Urban sued Joseph L. Blewitt in Cook County. On August 6, 2003, a default judgment was entered against Blewitt, in favor of Leonard, in the amount on $238,007.61. And on March 29, 2004, a Cook County judge (1) denied Blewitt’s motion to vacate and (2) revised the judgment to include Cecilia. As the judge explained: ‘The order of August 6, 2003, was considered by the court at that time to adjudicate all claims, therefore the order will be considered to include the non-injured spouse (Ms. Urban) nunc pro tunc to August 6, 2003.'”

“A Rule 23 order from the 1st District (a) affirmed the order that denied Blewitt’s motion to vacate (b) ruled that the judge erred in adding Cecilia nunc pro tunc and (c) concluded that the March 29, 2004, order was the final judgment that resolved all the claims of all the parties — with a money judgment for Leonard and no award for Cecilia.”

“On Sept. 16, 2004, the Urbans filed a memorandum of judgment in Will County that listed Leonard and Cecilia having scored a default judgment of $238,007.61 on Aug. 6, 2003. But on Feb. 28, 2006, the Urbans filed a memorandum of judgment that said the default judgment was $238,007.01.”

Read the article.

“A retired FBI agent arrested Friday near his home in Lafayette accepted more than more than $200,000 in cash bribes and gifts in exchange for funneling sensitive information to Armenian organized crime,” reports Bay City News.

“Babak Broumand, who retired from the FBI last year after 20 years as a special agent, was arrested by special agents with the FBI and Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.”

“Broumand was charged in a criminal complaint Tuesday in United States District Court in Los Angeles, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.”

Read the article.

“Atlanta lawyer Robert Ward acknowledges that he took off his pants at a security checkpoint at a federal courthouse in Tampa, Florida,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Trials & Litigation News.

“In an April 13 opposition, Wyndham noted that U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell ordered Ward Feb. 21 to show cause why she shouldn’t revoke his pro hac vice status for taking off his pants.”

“The Jan. 30 incident was precipitated when a court security officer told Ward that he would have to take off his belt for the metal detector. Ward replied that lawyers shouldn’t have to take off their belts. Ward then took off his pants, threw them in the bin and walked through the metal detector.”

Read the article.

Regulated corporations today are challenged to personalize their web presence and deliver complex information to customers in a way that is clear, compelling, and creating a memorable experience. As the customer experience becomes a key differentiator, compliance and marketing professionals must ensure that more and more dynamic information from complex websites is defensibly captured and preserved for regulatory compliance.

Hanzo, the company known for its pioneering technology in dynamic web archiving for compliance and ediscovery, is announcing new innovations to deliver the highest quality captures of dynamic web content regardless of the complexity of the website. Hanzo Dynamic Capture is built to deliver the highest-fidelity contextual data captures for corporate ediscovery and compliance teams to preserve the most dynamic and interactive data sources today.

Hanzo is releasing its fifth-generation crawler to support its long-term commitment to capturing the ever-evolving landscape of web technologies. With a focus on rapid updates, this technology will support the evergreen nature of today’s web.

“For over 10 years Hanzo has been focused on addressing enterprise challenges surrounding defensibly archiving dynamic data that is embodied by today’s interactive complex websites, social media, and collaboration applications,” said Keith Laska, CEO, Hanzo. “Our commitment is to future-proof current and future customers. That’s why financial services and insurance marketers rely on Hanzo to capture the most complex charts, graphs, and personalized information so that they can easily meet their complex regulatory compliance requirements.”

About Hanzo

Hanzo provides modern ediscovery and compliance software for enterprise organizations. Our solutions empower legal and compliance teams to efficiently manage the preservation, targeted collection, and review of dynamic content from enterprise collaboration applications, social media, and complex websites. Hanzo is SOC 2® Type 2 certified, demonstrating Hanzo’s commitment to data security and serves large corporations across the globe—giving them control, visibility, and context over their data to reduce cost and mitigate risk. Learn more at hanzo.co.

Dallas office doubles headcount in just 14 months

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that prominent business attorney David L. Pratt has joined the firm’s Dallas office as a partner, expanding the firm’s real estate, banking, and financial services practices. Anna Lee Alford also joins the firm as an associate.

“Adding David and Anna Lee to our Dallas office allows us to enhance the business transactional services we can provide to our clients on the local, regional, and national level,” said Richard A. Sayles, managing partner of Bradley’s Dallas office. “David is well known in the Texas legal community for his broad real estate and financial services practice, and his skills will help us better meet the expectations of our clients.”

Bradley Chairman and Managing Partner Jonathan Skeeters added, “The addition of David to our Dallas office reflects the firm’s commitment to expanding the transactional services we offer to clients in Texas and beyond, even in a challenging economy. David’s deep skill set, broad experience and client base of lenders, developers and operators will allow the firm to expand our capabilities in Texas while we continue to successfully meet our clients’ needs across the country.”

Pratt brings a pragmatic business-oriented approach to counseling clients based on his more than 25 years as a general business, banking, and commercial real estate law attorney. Mr. Pratt represents developers and operators in all aspects of development transactions including land-use planning, construction, and lending matters; as well as the representation of landlords and tenants in retail, office and industrial development, sales and leasing transactions. In addition, his practice includes the representation of banks and other financial institutions in a variety of loan originations, workouts, and foreclosure transactions. Before joining Bradley, Pratt was a founding partner of Johnston Pratt PLLC and a director with Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC. Pratt received his J.D. from the University of Tulsa Law School and his B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

“Joining Bradley is a client-driven decision. Many of my clients need a full-service law firm with a deep bench of attorneys that can offer high-quality legal services efficiently, and at rates that offer high value. Bradley covers all of these bases, and I am thrilled to join the firm,” Mr. Pratt said.

Alford joins as an associate from Pratt’s former firm and focuses her practice on real estate finance, financial services, and business and corporate transactions. She advises commercial lenders and commercial real estate owners, developers, investors and tenants. Alford received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and has a M.S. in Finance and a B.S.B.A. (cum laude) in International Business.

Bradley’s Dallas office has doubled in size since it opened in January 2019. In addition, the firm has grown to more than 45 lawyers located across offices in Dallas and Houston, and more than 70 lawyers licensed in the state, allowing the firm to handle a wide variety of legal issues for clients in Texas and beyond.

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.