Category: News on the Homepage

By John Asbury, Newsday

A 16th lawsuit has been filed against the now-shuttered Kumo Sushi & Steakhouse in Stony Brook by customers alleging food poisoning.

A Lake Grove family filed the latest lawsuit Oct. 25 against the restaurant’s parent company, MDBL Corp., and SBKU Services. The suit alleges that when the party of 23 held a combination baby shower and 30th birthday party on Sept. 9 at the restaurant, the group of family and friends, including elderly guests and children, were immediately sickened after eating hibachi.

The Suffolk County health department reported Thursday that a total of 54 people complained of getting sick after eating at the restaurant between Sept. 6 and 9.

“These people were put into a horrible situation. They were planning a baby shower for the first grandchild in the family,” said Ronkonkoma-based attorney Scott Middleton, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family.

“All 23 guests got sick due to the carelessness of this business,” Middleton said. “This was immediate. They were projectile vomiting in the parking lot.”

Members of the party “remained ill for several days after the incident. … As a result of consuming Defendant’s contaminated food products, Plaintiffs incurred medical expenses, and endured great physical pain, discomfort, mental anguish, and suffering, according to the lawsuit.

Read the full article on Newsday’s web site.

CMM has closed another successful multimillion dollar deal. The buyer is a longtime CMM client.  Almost a decade ago, CMM advised the buyer during its acquisition of its pest control business.  After years of hard work, our client turned to us to guide business expansion through the acquisition of a company that provides an array of tree care services to Long Island’s East End, which includes trained and certified horticulturists.  

Our work to close the transaction included the creation of a new entity, navigating tax and NYS vehicle transfer issues, and sophisticated financing. The deal team included CMM attorneys Vincent Costa, Marc Saracino, and Zachary Mike. This transaction showcased CMM’s depth of knowledge in the M&A buyer-side and landscaping space.

For more information on our mergers and acquisitions services, please contact us.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP is proud to announce that ten attorneys at the firm, in multiple practice areas, have been named to the 2023 Super Lawyers® list, four of them as a Rising Star. The CMM attorneys recognized this year, in practice areas including Business and Corporate, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Business Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Construction Litigation, Employment Litigation, and Appeals, are:

• Joe Campolo
• Scott Middleton
• Patrick McCormick
• Christine Malafi
• Jeffrey Basso
• Donald Rassiger
• David Green (Rising Star)
• Vincent Costa (Rising Star)
• Richard DeMaio (Rising Star)
• Marc N. Saracino (Rising Star)

The rigorous Super Lawyers selection process is based on peer evaluations, independent research, and professional achievement in legal practice. The Rising Stars recognition denotes superior professional achievement by attorneys who have been in practice for under 10 years or are under age 40. No more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in New York State are named to the Rising Stars list.

Learn more about CMM’s outstanding legal professionals here.

The 1,400-acre Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge (LI-IPH) – America’s second-largest industrial park – has elevated its brand by installing more than 400 flags bearing its name on light poles throughout the park.

The branding initiative was undertaken by HIA-LI, one of Long Island’s largest business advocacy organizations and steward for the park, formerly known as Hauppauge Industrial Park. The banner program was also supported by the Town of Smithtown, home to the large majority of the business park. Town of Smithtown workers attached the banners to town-owned light poles.

The flags, reading “Welcome to the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge,” are two feet by three feet in size. Customized flags were made available for purchase by individual businesses within the park, which were quickly sold-out.

LI-IPH’s 1,400 businesses employ 55,000 people, accounting for one in 20 jobs on Long Island. The companies’ $13 billion in annual output equals eight percent of Long Island’s gross domestic product. The park is second only in size to Silicon Valley in northern California.

The impetus for the banner campaign arose from a 2019 “Opportunity Analysis” that documented the park’s status as “the center of Long Island’s current and future economy.” The study was prepared by James Lima Planning + Development and funded by the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency and the Regional Plan Association. Among a spectrum of recommendations, the analysis advised the park to elevate its public profile and draw greater attention to its essential role in the regional economy.

“The Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge has no equal when it comes to generating employment and business growth in our region,” said HIA-LI President and CEO Terri Alessi-Miceli. “By reinforcing popular awareness of the park, we help set the stage for new partnerships and new achievements.”

“While the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge already stands as the cornerstone of the regional economy, it also possesses great potential for further growth,” said Carol A. Allen, Chairperson of the HIA-LI board and president and CEO of People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union. “We help engender that new growth when we take steps to strengthen recognition of our identity.”

“By building the park’s brand, we better capitalize on its extraordinary, proven capacity to bring net, new dollars into the region because of the park’s high proportion of tradable businesses,” said Joe Campolo, Managing Partner at Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP in Ronkonkoma and Chair of HIA-LI’s Long Island Economic Development Task Force. “The park’s ratio of revenue-generating, tradable companies is two-and-a-half times that of Long Island as a whole.”

Ms. Alessi-Miceli expressed her gratitude to HIA-LI board member Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares, Inc./The Harry Chapin Food Bank, for suggesting the flag initiative.

Kathleen DiLieto, CPA, is controller at the law firm Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP (CMM). DiLieto directs all functions of the accounting department at CMM and has worked to build a strong team and collaborative, productive work environment. Her public and private sector experience enables her to analyze issues from all critical angles and work with firm leadership to effectively plan for the future.

DiLieto is responsible for all accounting matters for the firm, which has offices in Westbury, Ronkonkoma and Riverhead, including financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, general accounting, cash and treasury management, internal control assessments, accounts receivable and accounts payable.

DiLieto has more than 20 years of accounting experience in both public accounting and private industry. She began her career at a public accounting firm focusing on audits, business consulting and tax preparation services before moving to in-house accounting roles in various industries including healthcare, manufacturing and construction.

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 is among the firm of choice for clients with respect to their most significant business transactions, challenging legal issues and critical disputes.

View the full Who’s Who book here.

How do you define “persuasive”? How about: it took less than 10 minutes of deliberation for the jury to find in our client’s favor after CMM’s Scott Middleton presented the case at trial. Meagan Nolan assisted in the preparation leading up to trial which proved invaluable in terms of the eventual outcome.

CMM represented the defendant in a two-day jury trial involving a side swipe accident on the Long Island Expressway in which the plaintiff struck the passenger side of the defendant’s vehicle. Our client was a limousine company and the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident, which had picked up passengers in the Hamptons and was driving them home to Queens. Middleton argued that the plaintiff, represented by a national plaintiff’s personal injury law firm, was careless and negligent in operating her car by frequently changing lanes unnecessarily and speeding.

While the plaintiff’s injuries were not addressed at trial, she claimed to have sustained multiple herniated discs as well as a severe concussion. After failing conservative treatment, the plaintiff underwent a cervical discectomy and fusion, alleging the need for future medical care and expenses. Plaintiff alleged damages in excess of $3,000,000.

After the case was given to the jury, it took only 10 minutes for them to return a verdict in favor of CMM’s client. Pursuant to the terms of a previously negotiated high-low agreement, the defendant will pay the plaintiff $75,000 – a major savings over the $975,000 the plaintiff had demanded and the $200,000 our client initially offered to settle.

Learn more about CMM’s liability insurance practice here.