Category: News on the Homepage

Long Island’s East End real estate market is booming as sales volume increases with no signs of slowing down. Despite inventory hitting record lows, it seems that everyone wants a piece of the East End.

This is great news for our client, who owns a trucking and excavation company on the East End. The company provides demolition, land clearing, excavation, drainage, and sanitary system installation services and also specializes in all phases of site development. In addition to owning that business, our client was also a 50% partner in multiple LLCs that owned four East End commercial properties. CMM recently closed a transaction in which our client acquired his business partner’s membership in the LLCs, becoming the sole owner. Closing the deal required navigation of not just the myriad legal issues, but also the personal and emotional issues that often arise among business partners parting ways.

While “business divorce” is often challenging, CMM’s Donald Rassiger received these kind words from our client: “I can’t thank you enough for your help! It’s been a rocky road for sure, but the weight that’s been lifted was worth the wait. There are many people that are glad to finally be done with this chapter.”

With an office in Riverhead and a longtime presence on the East End, CMM represents East End clients ranging from towns and villages to small businesses in matters such as land use, municipal liability, and mergers & acquisitions.

Contact us today to learn more.

Arthur Yermash is a partner at Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP. A corporate lawyer, Yermash provides practical, business-focused guidance to clients. Since launching his career at CMM over a decade ago, Yermash has directly supported the general counsel and full legal and business teams for a national retailer, serving as their go-to resource and primary outside counsel on an extraordinarily wide range of business and employment matters.

He has also represented Long Island and NYC companies in countless business-related matters and transactions from the routine to the complex, with a particular emphasis on guiding businesses through labor and employment issues from an employer perspective.

It has become exceedingly challenging for employers to comply with many different COVID-19 requirements and guidelines, Yermash said.

“The rules and requirements are changing at an unprecedented pace, creating difficulties for business decisionmakers to keep up with seemingly weekly changes,” he said. “The CDC and federal OSHA are focused on vaccination requirements, masks, and quarantine guidelines. State and city leaders are focused on paid sick leave, unpaid sick leave, quarantine leave, HERO Act, testing, and more.”

“A workforce is the backbone of any business and making sure people are able to get their jobs done safely and efficiently is vital for every business.,” Yermash noted. “As we head into 2022, it is as important as ever to maintain policies that fit the unique needs of each business. At the same time, employers must stay vigilant regarding the ever-changing rules and guidelines to maintain a safe and productive workplace.”

Yermash also chairs the firm’s Cannabis Law practice group, providing critical guidance for cannabis businesses, entrepreneurs, and service providers on a wide range of matters in this emerging market.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP is a premier law firm with offices across Long Island. Recently recognized as one of America’s Top Corporate Law Firms by Forbes, CMM has become the firm of choice for clients with respect to their most significant business transactions, challenging legal issues, and critical disputes.

In addition to voting them to the prestigious Forbes list, their clients and the business community have repeatedly chosen CMM as Best Law Firm in the “Best of Long Island” awards and their peers and adversaries have earned the firm and their partners AV-Preeminent® ratings, reserved for the highest level of professional excellence.

Founded in Suffolk County, CMM’s Long Island roots are deep. Over the past generation, CMM’s attorneys have played a central role in the most critical legal issues and transactions affecting Long Island. Started in Bohemia in 2008 with two lawyers, CMM now has over 30 lawyers and more than 50 total staff in their expanded Ronkonkoma headquarters and their offices on the East End and in Nassau County.

View the full Who’s Who book here.

In 2018, we reported that CMM litigators Patrick McCormick and Richard DeMaio, representing the St. James Fire District, successfully defended a petition that sought to punish the District for allegedly not complying with a multitude of conflicting F.O.I.L. requests – a victory that saved the District significant funds. In yet another victory, we are pleased to report that the 2018 decision was affirmed on appeal by the Appellate Division, Second Department more than three years later thanks to CMM’s hard work.

Between December 2017 and January 2018, Petitioner and his counsel, Cory Morris, Esq., made a series of requests to the Fire District pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law (F.O.I.L.) for over 40 categories of records spanning years. The claimed purpose of the requests was to provide the public with information concerning a proposal to sell the Fire District’s 100-year-old firehouse on Route 25A to the St. James Fire Department. In March 2018, Petitioner commenced a special proceeding pursuant to CPLR Article 78 seeking to compel the Fire District to comply with the requests, as well as pay him costs and fees.

In lieu of answering the petition, CMM’s litigation team moved to dismiss the proceeding, contending that the petition was moot because the Fire District responded timely to the voluminous requests – and that it did so notwithstanding that Petitioner had made multiple overlapping and duplicative requests with conflicting instructions and modifications. After a hearing and upon review of CMM’s detailed motion papers, the Supreme Court found that the Fire District responded timely, “notwithstanding the confusion and inconsistencies of position engendered by [Petitioner] and his counsel.”

Petitioner appealed, and the Appellate Division, Second Department, ultimately heard oral argument in October 2021. DeMaio’s oral argument, as well as McCormick and DeMaio’s appellate brief, demonstrated to the Court that the lower court decision should be affirmed. Indeed, the Court noted in its decision that (1) the Supreme Court properly determined that the branch of the petition seeking to compel production of the subject documents was rendered moot by the Fire District’s eventual disclosure; (2) the petitioner was not entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs; and (3) the Supreme Court had properly denied the branch of the petition seeking to retrain certain employees of the Fire District with respect to their F.O.I.L. obligations.

CMM has become a go-to appellate team for clients and trial lawyers alike. Learn more about our appeals practice here or contact us.

Pets are family, and one of the reasons our client’s veterinary hospital is so successful is the atmosphere of compassion that their animal-loving staff provides. This type of care has helped the family-oriented practice build their reputation in a NY suburb just north of the city and establish themselves as a leader not only in the surrounding community, but in the veterinary field. Their passion and dedication over two decades in business caught the attention of a larger veterinary group looking to expand, and CMM was thrilled to help our client navigate the multimillion-dollar sale.

Our client expressed their gratitude for CMM’s team, led by Senior Partner and Corporate Department Chair Christine Malafi, with the hard work of Paralegal Kat Campolo, and Legal Assistant Cailey McByrne. The client was particularly appreciative of CMM’s ability to close the deal within a tight timeframe, keeping everything moving smoothly.

This business deal among animal lovers shows that anything is paw-sible when CMM’s M&A team is involved. Visit our M&A practice page to learn more or contact us for your next merger or acquisition.

HIA-LI Board Member Joe Campolo moderated the 44^th HIA-LI Annual Meeting and Legislative Program held virtually on January 14, 2022. Joe reported on the tremendous work of the business community, elected officials, and HIA-LI to push Long Island forward as we enter the third calendar year of the pandemic. The event began with opening remarks by Acting Commissioner and President and CEO Designate of Empire State Development Hope Knight and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Joe then led a discussion with elected officials about building back our economy and other issues most affecting the business community. Panelists included New York State Senator Mario Mattera, State Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick, Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim, and Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter.

Fed up with flooding on their land during rainstorms, Suffolk County property owners filed suit against the owners and developers of the neighboring golf club, whose water drainage system they alleged was causing the flooding. They also named various Town defendants in their lawsuit, including the Highway Department, the Planning Department, and the Town itself, for their roles in approving the allegedly faulty drainage system. With holes in the plaintiffs’ case immediately apparent to the CMM Municipal Liability team, we got to work.

CMM’s team, led by Senior Partner and Municipal Liability Chair Scott Middleton and Associate  Richard DeMaio, with support from Paralegal Dominique Berberich, moved for summary judgment (essentially, a request that the Court dismiss the case because there are no facts at issue). CMM successfully presented evidence and testimony from a Town consulting engineer that the drainage plan met the standards of the Town Code. Furthermore, the team demonstrated that the plaintiffs did not timely file notices of claim (required to be filed prior to bringing a lawsuit against a municipal entity in New York) for each instance of flooding, nor did the plaintiffs allege any specific date to identify when the flooding occurred.  

Thanks to CMM’s hard work, the Court granted the Town’s motion for dismissal of the complaint. Learn more about our municipal liability practice group here.  

What a way to end the year – CMM’s mergers & acquisitions team finished 2021 with a bang, closing a newsworthy transaction involving multiple companies, shareholders, and sales.

Our client, Creative Bath Products Inc., is a Long Island manufacturer whose products are sold through major retailers such as Amazon, Target, Costco, and Walmart. The company has existed for over 40 years and attributes their success to its commitment to designing and manufacturing beautiful functional housewares and products that capture the consumer’s attention and engagement. The company’s manufacturing arm, M & M Molding Corporation, is a plastic fabrication company that shares a location with our client in Central Islip. The business assets of the sister companies were acquired by Delaware-based Creative Products, LLC. The sale of the business assets combined with the sale of the business property resulted in a multimillion-dollar transaction.

With CMM Senior Partner Patrick McCormick having previously represented the company in litigation matters, it was a natural fit for CMM’s corporate team to handle the M&A aspects. Senior Partner and Corporate department chair Christine Malafi led the property and business sale with the help of Paralegal Katharine Campolo. Legal Assistant Cailey McByrne and Senior Associate Vinny Costa also dedicated time and hard work to help close the deal.

2021 has been a busy year for CMM’s M&A team. Having represented sellers in a variety of industries including the arts, aerospace, construction, real estate, and technology, the sale of Creative Bath Products Inc. is another notch in the team’s manufacturing experience belt. Please contact us for your next merger or acquisition.

CMM is pleased to announce that Senior Partners Scott Middleton and Christine Malafi have been named to the Judicial Screening Committee of the Suffolk County Bar Association (SCBA). The Committee is tasked with investigating the background, experience, and other qualifications of candidates seeking to run for judicial office in Suffolk County to ensure that potential nominees are qualified to serve on the bench. The Committee consists of 25 active members of the SCBA of recognized standing, judgment and independence, and serve for a term of three years or until their successor is appointed.

Middleton previously served on the Committee and was reappointed this year. He chairs the Municipal Liability and Personal Injury practice groups at CMM. He handles all types of litigation, representing individuals and defending large and small businesses and municipalities in a wide array of matters including transportation, personal injury, premises liability, labor law (construction accidents and employment issues), civil rights, wrongful death, road design, and general litigation. Middleton serves on the Board of Directors of East End Arts as President in addition to his membership on the Stony Brook University Intercollegiate Athletic Board.

Malafi joins the Committee this year in addition to her work chairing the Corporate department at CMM. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and routine and complex transactions. She routinely represents buyers and sellers in multimillion-dollar transactions and serves in a general counsel role for many of the firm’s corporate clients. In addition to her legal work, Malafi serves on the Executive Board of Directors of Family Service League as the Vice-Chair of Governance & Nominating. She also sits on the Board of Governors of Touro Law School.

All members of the Judicial Screening Committee are appointed by the President of the SCBA, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. Committee members are attorneys who have achieved distinction and experience in the practice of law. Middleton and Malafi’s roles on the Committee demonstrate their outstanding service to the public as well as their continued pledge to faithfully serve the Suffolk County legal community.

It’s true that “teamwork makes the dream work,” especially when it comes to closing complex legal matters that require everyone on the team to pitch in one or way or another – either through work on the deal itself or picking up other work to keep other deals moving. In CMM’s latest success story, our corporate team did just that.

Our clients were the owners of an online bookkeeping service that has provided reliable and efficient bookkeeping services to organizations for over a decade. Servicing organizations nationwide, the company offers seamless solutions and support services for clients. In the multi-million-dollar deal, our clients sold their business to a leading software company that also provides solutions for groups and organizations through a technology-centered approach.

Senior Partner and corporate department chair Christine Malafi led CMM’s deal team, with support from Paralegal Katharine Campolo, and Touro Law School extern Julia Buli. Despite complications that resulted in last-minute restructuring of the transaction, CMM’s team was able to pull through to the finish line where our happy clients were waiting. The deal involved multiple LLCs organized in several jurisdictions, requiring collaboration with accounting professionals on the many tax implications of the transaction.

The deal highlights CMM’s dynamic M&A team and the confidence that clients have in our ability to take on complicated transactions and navigate the twists and turns that come along. Contact us for your next merger or acquisition.