Category: News on the Homepage

By Adina Genn

A new task force at HIA-LI is set to implement an action plan to optimize the long-term economic impact of the 1,400-acre Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge (up until recently was called the Hauppauge Industrial Park).

The action plan is based on the recommendations of the 160-page opportunity analysis by the Suffolk County IDA and Regional Plan Association that was released earlier this year. Leading the analysis was James Lima of James Lima Planning + Development, a New York City-based planning firm whose client list includes Facebook, several agencies for the City of New York, the University of Tennessee and other villages, cities and foundations.

A 41-year-old organization, the HIA-LI serves as the voice of the industrial park, where 55,000 people are employed. The park delivers $13 billion in annual output, according to the HIA-LI.

The report’s findings show that the park is the “undisputed anchor of Long Island’s ’tradable’ economy,’” which brings “new dollars and commerce into the region,” according to a press release about the new task force.

“These findings confirmed and expanded all of our conclusions and suspicions about the Long Island Innovation Park,” Joe Campolo said in a statement about plans to move forward with implementing key recommendations. Campolo is the managing partner of Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, a law firm in Ronkonkoma, who serves as chairman of the HIA-LI board of directors,

According to the analysis, there is room for growth at the park. The report found that this is especially so in tradable industries. These industries in the region make up 23 percent of Long Island’s economy, while the national average is 36 percent. The study also found that “58 percent of the park’s workforce represents jobs in tradable industries, a figure two-and-a-half times greater than that of Long Island as a whole.”

Now, the task force is focusing on five strategic areas to realize growth. These areas include facilitating business growth, attracting and retaining key knowledge workers, strengthening training and workforce development, promoting innovation, and strengthening connections with businesses, government, and institutions.

“Our mission now is to accelerate this growth by relentlessly spreading the word about the park as the region’s premier hub for growing businesses, and to continue building bridges between the public and private sectors to truly make an enormous impact,” Campolo said.

“We’re working on a specific and strategic plan to truly maximize the park’s long-term potential,” Terri Alessi-Miceli, HIA-LI’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “The members of this task force have the expertise to transform its vision into a reality.”

Members of the Innovation Park Task Force also include Carol Allen, president and CEO of People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union; Anthony Manetta of HB Solutions; Rich Humann, president and CEO of H2M Architects + Engineers; Jim Coughlan, principal of TRITEC Real Estate; Bob Quarte, managing partner of AVZ Certified Public Accountants; Jack Kulka of the Kulka Group; and Kevin O’Connor, president and CEO of BNB Bank.

Read more here.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick has successfully closed an asset purchase transaction in which we represented Canada-based Clairus Group in its second U.S.-based acquisition. Clairus Group, a fast-growing, vertically-integrated leader in automotive glass distribution, replacement, and claims management, acquired an independent auto glass repair and replacement company, 4 Star Auto Glass, with locations in Hackensack, New Jersey and the Bronx.

This was the second of several transactions that Clairus Group plans to pursue in the U.S. market. Once again, the hard work of the CMM team, including Corporate Department managing attorney Don Rassiger and associate Vincent Costa, enabled the client to complete the transaction efficiently and seamlessly. Clairus has now engaged CMM to draft and negotiate another acquisition involving a business in Texas.

CMM’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice has closed billions of dollars’ worth of deals on the national and international stage over the past decade, and it continues to be one of the cornerstones of our practice.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick’s longtime client Hedgehog, an award-winning, full-service digital consulting agency, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Sitecore, the global leader in digital experience management software. Hedgehog, based in Holbrook, Long Island, also has campuses in Charlotte, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Amsterdam. CMM is representing Hedgehog in the deal, with a team led by Corporate Department Chair Christine Malafi, assisted by Vincent Costa.

For more than a decade, Hedgehog has assisted companies in creating customer-focused online experiences that drive engagement. Hedgehog has a long history of commitment to Sitecore technology, as well as ongoing support of the Sitecore community. “We are very excited about continuing our journey with a company that appreciates our culture, reflects our values, and shares our vision to help customers transform their businesses so they can meet the digital requirements of today and the future,” said Dan Galvez, CEO of Hedgehog.

“I’ve watched Hedgehog’s incredible growth over the past 10 years. From the moment I started working with them, I knew they’d grow into an award-winning company and be viewed as industry leaders,” said CMM Managing Partner Joe Campolo. “I’m so proud of their success.”

The deal is expected to close in June 2019. Learn more here.

CMM’s mergers and acquisitions practice is the cornerstone of our corporate work, helping clients close billions of dollars’ worth of deals over the past decade. Learn more about our M&A practice here.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency (Suffolk IDA), and Hauppauge Industrial Association of Long Island (HIA-LI) have released the Hauppauge Industrial Park Opportunity Analysis.

The analysis identifies opportunities to anchor the Park to Long Island’s long-term economic revitalization.

The more than 160 page report found that the Park has the largest concentration of tradeable businesses on Long Island — 20 percent above the national average — and in turn offers an unparalleled opportunity for Long Island-wide economic development.

“The Hauppauge Industrial Park is the cornerstone of Suffolk County’s economy, plain and simple,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

“The Opportunity Analysis lays out achievable and substantial strategies for economic growth. This comprehensive roadmap provides our region with the building blocks needed to strengthen, expand and attract key industry clusters that will push our innovative economy to the next level.”

“As the largest business park in the Northeast, the Hauppauge Industrial Park today ranks as the unrivaled cornerstone of the Suffolk County economy,” said HIA-LI President and CEO Terri Alessi-Miceli.

“Now, thanks to the five-part strategic plan set forth through our partnership with the Suffolk IDA, James Lima Planning + Development, and the Regional Plan Association, the Park is equipped to fulfill a growth scenario that will redouble its contributions to our regional economy.”

The Opportunity Analysis has determined five economic development strategies for the Park to grow and influence the entire Long Island economy: facilitate business growth; attract and retain skilled workers; strengthen training and workforce development; promote innovation and technology transfer; and connect businesses, governments and institutions.

The Suffolk County IDA and HIA-LI plan to take lead in fostering partnerships with relevant institutions, major private sectors conglomerates and non-profits.

The Opportunity Analysis also offers competitor analysis and assessment to provide differentiation, learning and collaboration opportunities.

“Since its conception, HIA-LI has continuously invested time, vision and planning in the Hauppauge Industrial Park, driving millions in tax ratables to our community and employing our residents,” said Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim.

“The Report; a roadmap into our future, takes this investment to new and endless heights. Imagine neighboring businesses working together to capitalize on mutual growth, a think tank of business professionals working to help innovate local companies to the next level, the private sector working with public institutions to plan for alternative energy or create walkable communities for the next generation of great innovators to live and play. The possibilities are truly endless.”

The Hauppauge Industrial park is home to 55,000 employees and its $13 billion of annual output accounts for eight percent of Long Island’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Of the park’s total employment, 58 percent are located in tradeable sectors (exports of goods out of the region) which outperforms both the nation’s average of 36 percent and Long Island’s 23 percent considerably.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, a premier law firm with offices in Westbury, Ronkonkoma, and Bridgehampton, proudly announces that Senior Partner Patrick McCormick has been elected to the Executive Committee (as Secretary) of the Suffolk County Bar Association. This election is a significant professional milestone for McCormick, who has just completed a successful two-year term as Dean of the Academy of Law, the SCBA’s educational arm. McCormick will be sworn in at the SCBA’s 111^th Annual Installation Dinner on June 7, 2019.

McCormick chairs the Appellate Practice group at CMM, having built a reputation as a strategic and talented appellate attorney over nearly three decades in the field. Representing clients in civil and criminal matters in both federal and state court, McCormick has argued numerous appeals, including three arguments at the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. He is also a respected trial attorney, litigating all types of complex commercial and real estate matters, and also represents national commercial shopping centers, retailers, and publicly traded home builders in commercial and residential landlord-tenant matters.

The Suffolk County Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary bar associations in New York State. As Dean of the Academy, McCormick spearheaded the continuing education of thousands of New York lawyers. During his tenure he helped bring the Academy into the future by increasing the number of programs, utilizing new technology, and offering an unprecedented range of topics, scheduling, and formats. In addition to his new role as Secretary and prior roles on the Board of Directors and as Academy Dean, McCormick has served the SCBA as Chair of the Appellate Practice Committee as well as on the Commercial Division, Landlord/Tenant, and Real Property Committees. 

Relationships between business partners can sometimes sour. And other times, they can turn downright ugly.

CMM’s client, a well-respected environmental engineering firm with multiple locations, reported that one of its shareholders (who was also an employee) had abruptly resigned. He began intimidating the company with bogus criminal complaints and threats to report them to governmental agencies, with the sole aim of gaining an advantage in buyout negotiations. He also continued to communicate with and intimidate the company’s employees and consultants. On top of that, our client also learned that the shareholder had violated the duties he owed to the company during his tenure as an officer by commingling business and personal funds, among other wrongdoing.

The shareholder’s egregious behavior had the potential to damage the company’s reputation and business relationships and resulted in delayed business operations and unnecessary costs. Our client therefore sought to restrain the shareholder from any further dealings with the company. In addition to filing a Complaint against the shareholder, CMM moved by Order to Show Cause for a temporary restraining order barring the former shareholder from accessing our client’s credit line or bank accounts, interfering with our client’s business operations, contacting our client’s customers or potential customers, inducing employees to leave the company, or interfering in our client’s day-to-day business operations.

Thanks to the hard work and extraordinary advocacy of senior partners Scott Middleton (who argued the motion in court) and Patrick McCormick, associates Richard DeMaio and David Green, and paralegal Kathleen Johnson, the Court granted all the relief we sought. The Court agreed with CMM’s arguments that the defendant’s continued misconduct violated both the Shareholder’s Agreement and his fiduciary duties. Our client can now move forward by parting ways with the shareholder and starting the company’s next chapter.

Learn more about our wealth of experience handling all types of business divorce matters here.

Many injured or disabled workers fear that a denial of insurance coverage or disability benefits marks the end of an already-frustrating road of red tape and dead ends. But that’s precisely when CMM was retained to turn a client’s difficult journey around.

A Fortune 500 insurance company had denied coverage for long-term disability benefits to our client, insisting that he “did not meet the policy definition of Disability” despite well-documented medical records to the contrary. CMM fought back. Christine Malafi appealed the finding, arguing that our client’s medical records and physician assessments provided well-documented and overwhelming evidence of significant impairment such that our client was wholly unable to work.

CMM further argued that the insurance company’s denial was egregious as it was based entirely on the opinion of their own medical assessor, which was not only a clear conflict of interest but also entirely unsupported by the record. The appeal affirmed that our client was legally entitled to coverage in light of his fully-disabled status as confirmed by the Social Security Administration.

In a major win, CMM’s appeal was so persuasive that the insurance company reversed its own decision within weeks. As anyone who has attempted to obtain disability or insurance benefits knows, such a turnaround time is extraordinary. Our client can now collect benefits, stay in his home, and have financial stability during a difficult medical crisis.