Dykema, a leading national law firm, successfully defended Kia Motors America, Kia Motors Corporation, and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (collectively, “KIA”) in a product liability case in the Superior Court of Los Angeles. After a 17-day trial, and after deliberating for just 90 minutes, on February 13, 2020, a jury returned a defense verdict in favor of KIA. Plaintiffs were seeking more than $87M in damages.

In May 2018, plaintiffs filed an instant action claim against KIA following an automotive accident that occurred in May 2017 involving a 2016 Kia Optima. Plaintiffs later filed their Second Amended Complaint (SAC) asserting causes of action for Strict Product Liability, Negligence, and Wrongful Death. In total, plaintiffs sought damages of $87.7 million.

Plaintiffs contended that issues with the Kia Optima’s power steering caused the loss of driver control. However, the jury determined that KIA was not responsible for any damages occurring in the accident.

“We were pleased by the jury’s decision that found KIA not liable for this unfortunate accident,” said Mike Carey, a member of the Dykema trial team. “After a long and strenuous process for all parties involved, we are pleased with the outcome, showing that the 2016 KIA Optima is a safe, reliable vehicle that has no defects in its power steering system.”

The Dykema team representing KIA was led by James Feeney and included Dommond Lonnie, Director of Dykema’s Automotive Industry Group, Mike Carey, Co-Leader of Dykema’s Mobility & Advanced Transportation Team, James Azadian, and Cory Webster.

“Biglaw firms across the globe continue to promote diversity and inclusion among their ranks by instituting transgender-friendly workplace policies. To that end, many firms have decided to embrace the full gender spectrum by encouraging any and all employees — not just their transgender, genderqueer, and nonbinary employees — to use gender pronouns in their email signatures.” writes Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law’s BigLaw.

Earlier Above the Law “wrote about Sidley Austin’s heartening step forward when it offered firmwide approval and support for employees to add gender pronouns to their signature blocks. As it turns out, many other firms have done the exact same thing.”

The article provides a few of these signature blocks, including facts about each firm’s steps toward inclusivity.

Read the article.

“Michael Avenatti, the failed presidential candidate and lawyer who represented adult-film star Stormy Daniels in her suit against President Trump, was found guilty by a federal jury in New York on Friday of all three counts he faced over an attempt to extort Nike. The disgraced attorney could now spend a maximum of 20 years in prison, and his epic downfall hasn’t ended either, since additional trials await for other alleged crimes.” reports Chas Danner in the New York Intelligencer.

“Last March, federal prosecutors alleged that while Avenatti was representing a youth basketball coach, he and an associate threatened to publicly accuse Nike of illegally paying amateur basketball players if the company didn’t hand over millions of dollars. Avenatti was arrested in March after the FBI recorded him threatening Nike representatives.”

Read the article.

“A tip to an FBI hotline launched an eight-month investigation by the state police organized crime unit that ended this week with a Uniontown lawyer being accused of offering to launder drug money for clients.” reports Paul Peirce in TRIBLIVE’s Regional News.

“Authorities on Thursday arrested Tancredi Calabrese, 32, who is charged with dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal attempt to deal in the proceeds of unlawful activities, unsworn falsification to authorities and tampering with public records. He is free on $50,000 unsecured bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 26.”

“The investigation began in June after the FBI received a tip about Calabrese’s alleged activity, Trooper Craig Yauch reported in court documents.”

Read the article.

“Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (“Carrols” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: TAST) announced that it has appointed Markus Hartmann as the Company’s Vice President and General Counsel effective February 18, 2020.” reports BusinessWire.

“Mr. Hartmann is a business-oriented legal leader with experience in both public and private companies. He has practiced law in both domestic and international settings. Markus is a driven executive with experience as both a commercial and legal leader, with a distinguished career spanning more than three decades.”

“Mr. Hartmann most recently was the Vice President for Technical Compliance at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. (a Daimler Company) (XETR: DDAIF). During his tenure, he was responsible for establishing the technical compliance function in North America for Daimler’s passenger car and vans division. Mr. Hartmann previously served as the North American General Counsel for Sandoz, Inc. (a division of Novartis) (NYSE: NVS), as well as the European and North American General Counsel for Reckitt Benckiser (LSE:RB) while living and working as an expatriate in the Netherlands.”

Read the press release.

“The recent decision of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in In re AAGS Holdings LLC, Case No. 19-13029 (SMB) (Bankr. D. Del. Nov. 12, 2019), underscores the ability of debtors — and specifically, for purposes of this client alert, parties to real property purchase contracts — to take advantage of the Bankruptcy Code’s 60-day tolling period to get more time to close on a purchase despite a “time of the essence” (TOE) closing deadline. The SDNY Bankruptcy Court … held that a debtor’s bankruptcy petition is not filed in bad faith when the petition is filed in order to obtain a statutory 60-day extension of a TOE closing deadline. The decision underscores the need for sellers to consider the effect of this automatic bankruptcy extension when negotiating with buyers over the terms of a consensual closing extension (e.g., fees and increased deposits) even if the contract does not have a financing contingency.” warn Adam C. Rogoff, Daniel Ross Berman and Caroline Gange in Kramer Levin’s Perspectives.

“The court found that the term “Closing Date” as defined in the PSA was, in fact, ambiguous.”

Read the article.

“Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal recently issued a decision that serves as a reminder not to take for granted a proposition that most practicing attorneys regularly encounter: a motion for summary judgment must be supported by competent evidence, and an affidavit that does little more than mimic the motion for summary judgment will not suffice.” write Dean A. Morande and Rachel A. Oostendorp in Carlton Fields Insights.

“In Rodriguez v. Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Co., a plaintiff sued her insurer, alleging that it had breached her homeowners insurance contract by denying coverage for water damage. The trial court granted the insurer’s two separate motions for summary judgment” which the Second District reversed “concluding that the 37-page affidavit lacked sufficient information to demonstrate that the affiant possessed the competency or personal knowledge to testify on those matters, which ranged from contract interpretation to trade specialties of plumbing and contracting. ”

Further, “The affidavit failed to identify her title or corporate duties, did not state that it was made on personal knowledge, and did not set forth her relevant skill set or experience.”

Read the article for the three “musts”.

“Most construction contracts, and sometimes even estimates or purchase orders, require that changes to the original scope of work be approved in writing. Despite the requirement, there are many instances where the parties do not follow this and do not properly document changes. As a result, costly disputes often arise.” write Rhiannon K. Baker and Philip S. Bubb in Fredrikson & Byron’s News & Media.

“Changes are often needed in the course of a construction project. And those changes typically include work that is either added or removed from the original scope of work. While that might sound like a unilateral request or decision, in practice, it is not.”

“In fact, a change order is a contract amendment. ”

The article provides a list of what should be included in a change order.

Read the article.

“The U.S. Government, through the Department of Energy (DOE), regulates the energy efficiency of consumer products and industrial equipment that consume electricity. There are now more than 50 broad categories of products that are subject to regulation, including things such as lightbulbs, air conditioners, televisions, and kitchen appliances, as well as commercial heating and cooling equipment, refrigeration equipment, electric motors, and industrial fans. The requirements are different for every regulated product, and by law, DOE must consider whether to impose more stringent efficiency standards for every product every six years.” writes Mary Anne Sullivan of Hogan Lovells in Lexology.

“There are many ways to violate the regulations. In addition to selling products that do not meet the required efficiency standards,” the article provides a list of other activities that constitute violations.

Read the article

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that the TCPA litigation and counseling subgroup of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group has published its 6th annual REDIAL: 2019 TCPA Year-in-Review – Analysis of Critical Issues and Trends in TCPA Compliance and Litigation. REDIAL reflects the team’s thought leadership and in-depth analysis of significant Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) court cases, regulatory developments and compliance issues.

“In 2019, the insurance, financial services, energy and telecommunications sectors, among many others, were all uniquely affected by the TCPA,” said Lewis S. Wiener, US partner and leader of Eversheds Sutherland’s TCPA practice. “Keeping up with developments in the TCPA area has never been more important. At the start of 2019, there was no more TCPA plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction than the 11th Circuit. By the end of the year, the 11th Circuit had become the least plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction. As TCPA cases continue to be filed at a record rate, compliance becomes more important for businesses in every sector. REDIAL and Eversheds Sutherland’s continuing thought leadership in the TCPA area helps to highlight these developing trends and analyzes the key legal issues affecting these industries.”

Among other things, a few interesting facts within the publication include:

• The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association estimates that 6 billion texts are sent daily in the United States
• As many as 100,000 cell phone numbers are reassigned every day
• More than 3,000 TCPA lawsuits were filed in 2019

View the full 2019 TCPA Year-in-Review publication.

Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group, which includes more than 100 litigators, has tried and argued cases in the US Supreme Court, all 13 circuits of the US Court of Appeals, the Court of Federal Claims, the Tax Court, and hundreds of federal district and state trial and appellate courts across the country. The team represents regional, national and global clients from a broad range of industries, including financial services, securities, insurance, energy, construction, manufacturing, automotive, distribution, education, professional services, data privacy, electronics, technology and defense. The experienced team of TCPA and class action attorneys aggressively defends clients and counsels on how to set up and structure communication programs to comply with the TCPA and minimize litigation risks.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the addition of Steven D. Mroczkowski to its Financial Services Litigation Practice Group. Mroczkowski joins Dykema’s Chicago office where he will concentrate on complex commercial litigation, representation of financial institutions, and construction law.

Mroczkowski represents owners, contractors, developers, small and large businesses, and creditors and financial institutions in all manner of disputes. He litigates in state and federal trial and appellate courts and also represents clients in mediation and arbitration proceedings. Mroczkowski also works closely with clients to prevent disputes through contract drafting and document review and provides valuable general counsel advisory services to industry clients.

He regularly writes and speaks about developments in construction law and general commercial law as it pertains to the financial services industry. He is a past chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association’s Real Property Law Subcommittee on Construction Law and Mechanics Liens. Mroczkowski has been selected to serve on the Illinois State Bar Association’s (ISBA) Construction Law Section Council and is currently serving as the Council’s secretary. He is also a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Construction and Public Contract Law Section.

Mroczkowski earned a J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and a B.A., magna cum laude, in Economics and French from North Central College.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Renée Rothauge has joined the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice as a partner in the Portland office. Renée counsels national and global clients on litigation strategy and guides them through high-stakes jury and bench trials as well as arbitrations.

With three decades of courtroom trial experience, Rothauge focuses her practice on complex business litigation. She has represented clients in licensing and shareholder disputes, business torts, breach of contract and intellectual property matters—including trademarks, trade secrets, unfair competition, copyrights, and patents.

Rothauge has received numerous accolades during her career, including being ranked Band 1 in Chambers USA for litigation and being named a Women of Influence honoree by the Portland Business Journal. She is also active in the legal community, serving as chair of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers’ Oregon State Committee and as a member of the executive committee of the Oregon State Bar Litigation Section.

She earned her J.D., cum laude, from the Willamette University College of Law and her B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Foley & Lardner LLP announced that Thomas Krysa has joined the firm’s Denver office as a partner in its Litigation Department and Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice Group. Before entering private practice in 2016, Krysa served in government roles for nearly two decades – most recently as associate regional director for enforcement in the Denver regional office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he oversaw the SEC’s enforcement program in seven western states and before that, as head of the trial unit in the Denver regional office. Earlier in his career, Krysa served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Tax Division in Washington, D.C.

A veteran litigator and trial attorney, Krysa counsels clients in securities litigation and enforcement matters, government investigations and complex commercial disputes. He regularly represents clients in matters before the SEC, DOJ, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and other federal and state regulatory bodies. Krysa’s practice also includes conducting internal investigations for corporations, their boards of directors and audit committees.

During his time leading the SEC’s enforcement program in its Denver office, Krysa supervised matters involving insider trading, financial fraud, activities of broker-dealer and investment advisor misconduct, market timing, market manipulation and audits of public companies. Prior to that, he supervised the office’s trial unit and was responsible for litigating securities enforcement matters in federal district courts and before administrative law judges.

Krysa comes to Foley from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, where he was a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Practice.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that Gerlach Rechtsanwälte, a labor and employment law firm in Austria, is joining its global platform. The move follows the recent opening of Littler’s Singapore office, its first in Asia, along with its expansion into Norway last year.

Adding Rechtsanwälte is part of Littler’s global growth strategy that includes combining with top firms focused on labor and employment law in important international markets. With this latest expansion, Littler now has a presence in eight countries in Europe, bringing its global footprint to more than 1,500 attorneys across 21 countries.

Founded by Roland Gerlach, an accomplished attorney with more than 25 years of experience, Rechtsanwälte focuses on Austrian and European employment law. The firm counsels clients on matters related to employment contracts and terminations, pensions law, restructuring and conflict resolution, including litigation. The firm also advises on data protection issues, works council negotiations and the employment aspects of social security regulations.

Gerlach is a member of the Governing Committee of the Vienna Bar Association and the Austria representative on the board of the European Employment Lawyers Association. He is joined by partners Michaela Gerlach, who brings two decades of employment law experience, and Markus Loescher, whose practice includes a particular focus on the intersection of technology and the workplace.

Littler’s international operations span four continents – North America, South America, Asia and Europe – and include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela. The firm’s global capabilities also include U.S.-based lawyers with exceptional international experience, who are dually licensed practitioners in Australia, Brazil, Japan and South Africa.

Merrill Corporation, a leading global SaaS provider for participants in the M&A lifecycle, today announced the appointment of Patricia Elias as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Patricia becomes a member of the company’s leadership team, reporting to Merrill Corporation Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Donnelly.

In her role as general counsel, Elias will support the company’s commercial efforts as it continues to expand its business globally. This will include oversight and support on matters related to corporate governance, compliance and intellectual property management, as well as the review and negotiation of a broad variety of commercial agreements such as licensing, technology, services, leases, non-disclosure, independent contractor, vendor, and data privacy agreements, as well employment agreements.

Elias brings a wealth of legal and SaaS experience to her role at Merrill. Most recently, she served as General Counsel for International Decision Systems, a provider of software and services to the global asset finance industry. Before that, she was Associate General Counsel for Infor Inc, a global software provider for customer relationship management, supply chain management, enterprise asset management, property management and other business software to midmarket companies. She has also served in several senior legal roles at SoftBrands Inc., Lawson Software, Abaton.com, and Health Systems Integration.

Patricia holds a JD from the William Mitchell College of Law, and a BA from the University of Minnesota.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced that Grasford Smith has joined the firm’s national Litigation Practice Group in West Palm Beach. He joins from Jones Foster P.A., bringing a wide array of experience in complex commercial litigation. Smith has particular expertise resolving matters in the financial services, real estate, hospitality, retail, and maritime industries.

Smith focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. He has experience representing a diverse range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, athletic leagues, technology companies, and a U.S. Congressman, in addition to a variety of small and medium-sized businesses. Smith also handles local and national dispute matters concerning corporate governance, government enforcement actions, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, trade secrets, real estate matters, construction defects, franchises, products liability, intellectual property, eminent domain, and disciplinary/admission matters before the Florida Bar.

Smith is an active member of the West Palm Beach business and legal communities. He currently sits on the board of directors of the American Heart Association, Anquan Boldin Foundation, and Urban League of Palm Beach County. Additionally, he served on the City of West Palm Beach Mayor’s Transition Team Committee and the Economic Development & Jobs Policy Subcommittee in 2019. On the legal front, Smith actively holds leadership roles with The Florida Bar, Palm Beach County Bar Association, Florida Supreme Court, and Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. He also currently serves as president of the National Bar Association’s Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter, vice chair of the National Bar Association’s Minority Partners Division, president-elect of Palm Beach County’s Black Chamber of Commerce, and past president of the F. Malcolm Cunningham Sr. Bar Association.

Smith is the latest lateral partner to further strengthen Akerman’s national litigation bench. In New York, Joel Forman brings decades of experience resolving securities civil litigation and government enforcement cases, while Philip Touitou and Joseph Silver add specialized skills in professional liability to the firm’s litigation offering. The Honorable Ruben Castillo, former Chief Judge for the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, joined the firm’s growing Chicago office upon retiring from the bench. In Atlanta, a newly established and fast-growing market, Anthony Morris and Robin Johnson focus their practices on commercial litigation.

Holland & Hart announced that Richard Schwartz has joined the firm as of counsel in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. A seasoned environmental litigator, Schwartz handles complex, high-profile environmental and toxic tort litigation in federal and district courts across the county.

Schwartz has over 45 years of experience defending environmental enforcement, permitting, and citizens’ suits. He has established a reputation as a nationally respected environmental lawyer, representing clients in major litigation over the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Superfund Act, and state environmental laws. He has helped clients in the mining, energy, and agricultural industries respond successfully to challenges from environmental groups as well as from state and federal agencies.

Schwartz earned his J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. at Yale University. He is admitted to practice in District of Columbia.

Another year, another new wide-reaching regulation designed to protect consumer data privacy.

Signed into law just one month after the EU’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is now also in effect, with a great impact on how businesses handle and manage the personal data of California residents.

Specifically, CCPA applies to businesses that meet any of the following criteria:

*Have gross annual revenue of more than $25 million
*Buy, receive, or sell the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers, households, or devices
*Derive 50% or more of their annual revenue from the sale of consumers’ personally identifiable information

Read the full article

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Jan. 27, 2020) – Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Chuck Stewart, a partner in the firm’s Montgomery office and co-chair of the firm’s Product Liability team, has accepted an invitation to join the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

The ABOTA is a national organization of trial lawyers with 97 chapters in all 50 U.S. states. Selection for membership into ABOTA carries with it considerable prestige among attorneys, judges and legislators.

“We congratulate Chuck on his earned membership with the American Board of Trial Advocates,” said Bradley Montgomery Office Managing Partner Bobby Poundstone. “Chuck is a well-known litigation leader in the nation who is responsible for many major trial successes for our clients.”

A member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Stewart has been a trial lawyer for more than 30 years. He has successfully tried a vast number of cases, primarily in the defense of corporations in product liability, employment, business disputes, class actions, intellectual property, antitrust, construction, and catastrophic personal injury matters. He has represented clients in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

Mr. Stewart also speaks regularly on topics within his areas of practice. He has been very active in practice-related organizations such as the DRI, IADC, FDCC, and ALFA International. He served on the board of DRI and as chair of the DRI’s Product Liability Committee, and formerly served as president of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.

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 over 500 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, real estate, construction, technology, energy, insurance, and entertainment, among many others.

“It was major legal industry news last April when international business and legal services powerhouse EY entered into an agreement with Thomson Reuters to acquire Pangea3, the legal managed services business.” reports Robert J. Ambrogi in LawSite’s blog.

“Now, 10 months later, EY has laid off at least some of the U.S.-based lawyers who came with the deal.”

“While precise details remain uncertain, reports indicate that EY has let go some 20-30 lawyers who work for it in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota and the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas.”

Read the article.