News (All) - Page 20 of 164 - Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP

CMM Closes Sale of Nassau Insurance Company to Major US Agency

Posted: September 26th, 2022

CMM’s latest M&A deal highlights the tremendous appeal of Long Island businesses to nationwide companies looking to grow through acquisitions. CMM recently closed the multimillion-dollar stock sale of a Nassau County-based property and casualty insurance agency to a large insurance company with operations across the country. The national carrier saw the potential to expand its portfolio of cybersecurity, workers’ compensation, and other insurance products with the acquisition of this successful Long Island business.

CMM Senior Partner Christine Malafi led the deal with critical support from paralegal Cailey McByrne. The team handled all aspects of the deal, including leasing issues pertaining to the client’s property where the office is located.

For guidance on the purchase or sale of a business, please contact us.

CMM Secures Dismissal of Malicious Prosecution Claim Against Suffolk County Town

Posted: September 14th, 2022

Think municipal law is limited to zoning disputes? You’ll be intrigued by CMM’s latest municipal law success story involving an animal shelter, an arrest for trespass, and an accusation of malicious prosecution.

CMM’s client, a Suffolk County Town, had previously suspended the plaintiff (the supervisor of the Town animal shelter) based upon concerns about her performance. Pending a hearing on the matter, the Town barred her from returning to Town property. Days later, she appeared at the shelter, and Town employees reported the incident. The plaintiff was subsequently arrested for trespassing (charges that were later dropped).

The plaintiff sued the Town in 2017, alleging First Amendment (freedom of assembly) and Fourth Amendment (abuse of process) claims, as well as malicious prosecution. Almost immediately, CMM secured the dismissal of all claims except malicious prosecution, which the Court allowed to proceed through discovery. The plaintiff claimed that the Town (through certain employees and investigators) “initiated” criminal proceedings against her by urging her prosecution and providing false information to the D.A.’s office. After discovery concluded, with these claims debunked, CMM’s Scott Middleton and Richard DeMaio moved for summary judgment (essentially, asking the Court to find that there are no facts in dispute and to rule in our favor).

In a recent decision, the Court granted that motion and dismissed the case. The Court found that the plaintiff failed to establish that the Town employees initiated criminal proceedings; rather, all they did was report a perceived trespass. The Court also found that regardless of whether there was a crime, the Town employees were entitled to qualified immunity.

This outcome was a major win for the Town, finally putting this case to rest after more than five years. Visit our Municipal Liability page to learn more about other successful cases.

CMM Closes Complex F-Reorganization M&A Deal for Longstanding Family Business

Posted: September 13th, 2022

Selling a business you’ve spent decades building is never easy, but having the right legal team in place makes a stressful time much easier to navigate.

CMM’s M&A team recently represented a client who had devoted nearly 40 years to its business of selling building cleaning supplies and sanitation products. To close the multimillion-dollar stock deal, we guided our client through a complex F-reorganization under the Internal Revenue Code. For companies in New York, this process, in short, involves forming additional companies and merging the existing corporation into a newly created LLC prior to closing.

Vincent J. Costa led the CMM team, which also included paralegal Cailey McByrne. Vinny and Zach skillfully managed the client’s concerns and deftly handled the major NYC firm representing the buyer. Cailey kept the deal on track and made all necessary filings with the Department of State, all while keeping the dozens of versions of transaction documents well organized and the open issues in the forefront. Our client was very happy with the outcome of the sale to the buyer, a specialized distributor with operations throughout the United States.

CMM has the experience to handle the most complex M&A transactions. Contact us today.

Legal Brief: Inflation, M&A Deals & More

Posted: September 13th, 2022

Christine Malafi, Senior Partner, Featured in LIBN Who’s Who 2022 Women in Professional Services

Posted: August 30th, 2022

Christine Malafi is a senior partner at Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP (CMM), where she also chairs the corporate department at CMM.

Malafi has led CMM’s legal team in closing countless M&A deals worth billions of dollars. She has vast experience advising on both buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions in a variety of industries, including technology, manufacturing, education, healthcare, and professional service sectors.

She is particularly adept at working closely and strategically with clients’ other professional advisors, including accountants, bankers, and M&A advisors, as well as forging those critical relationships for clients based on the deep network of relationships she has cultivated over years in the business.

Malafi’s practice also includes advising clients on business divorce matters and a wide variety of both routine and complex corporate transactions. She serves in a general counsel role for many of the
firm’s corporate clients. Clients also turn to her for guidance on employment issues including payment of wages, overtime, paid and unpaid leave, hiring, and termination; drafting customized policies, procedures, handbooks, and training programs, including sexual harassment prevention; and conducting internal investigations in connection with discrimination, harassment, compensation and overtime.

Read the full Who’s Who spotlight here.

CMM’s Christine Malafi Featured in The Best Lawyers in America® for the 6th Consecutive Year

Posted: August 23rd, 2022

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, a premier law firm with offices across Long Island, is thrilled to announce that that Senior Partner Christine Malafi has been recognized by her peers for the sixth year in a row to be featured in The Best Lawyers in America® in the category of Employment Law – Management (2023 edition). With this distinction, Malafi ranks among the top five percent of private practice attorneys nationwide as determined by a rigorous peer-review process.

For over three decades, the legal profession and the public have turned to Best Lawyers® as one of the most credible measures of legal integrity and distinction in the nation. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on over a million confidential evaluations by top attorneys. The Best Lawyers’ founding principle forms the basis of this transparent methodology: the best lawyers know who the best lawyers are. No fee to participate is permitted.

Malafi chairs the Corporate Department at CMM, which was recognized by Forbes as a Top Corporate Law Firm in America. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, corporate transactions, drafting and negotiating a wide range of agreements, and helping businesses navigate all types of human resources matters. 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, among others.

CMM’s Litigation Team Wins a Complex Construction Site Case for Our Client

Posted: August 8th, 2022

What’s better than successfully getting a client out of a lawsuit? Getting them out of a lawsuit without having to pay a settlement, or incur any trial costs or expenses.

CMM’s litigation team did just that with a complex motion in this complex case. The plaintiff alleged that he was injured at a construction site and sued our client (a sub-contractor), other contractors, and the building owner for general negligence and violations of New York State Labor Law (“Labor Law”). The general contractor also sued our client for contractual indemnification.

CMM litigators David Green and Scott Middleton moved for summary judgment, seeking a dismissal of all claims against our client. We argued that the plaintiff was not entitled to the protections of the labor law, and that our client was not liable to the plaintiff for the accident – and that therefore, the plaintiff’s claims should be dismissed as well as the indemnification claims.

In this outright win for our client, the court agreed, finding that the plaintiff was not entitled to the protections of the Labor Law, that our client was not negligent or otherwise liable to the plaintiff or to any co-defendants for indemnification, and ordering that all claims against our client be dismissed.

CMM recognizes that each case requires a unique approach, and we work with clients to determine the best strategy for their business. Contact us to learn more.

Transferring a Liquor License in New York State May Give Your Business a Hangover. Let Us Help!

Posted: August 8th, 2022

By: Christine Malafi, Esq. email

When buying or selling a business with a liquor license, many owners assume that they can simply transfer the license from one owner to another. In New York, the transfer of liquor licenses is not so simple. The New York State Liquor Authority (NYSLA) does not allow the direct transfer of a liquor license from one business to another. With the backlog of state and federal agencies, it is important to get started on this process as soon as possible.

To transfer the liquor license, the new owner of the business must go through the same process of applying for a license as the previous liquor license owner did. There are four main groups of liquors licenses, and each license type has its own set of application requirements. Generally, an application for a liquor license includes the application form, proof of citizenship and photo identification for each principal, the lease or deed and photos of the premises, and financial documents. When the application is necessitated by a transfer of the business assets related to the use of the liquor license, the contract of sale of the business must be included as well.

The transfer laws are different for New York City businesses than the rest of the state. Any establishment located in one of the five boroughs must send the prior notice of their application to their corresponding NYC Community Boards. Each borough has its own respective Community Board. Outside of New York City, local municipalities must be notified 30 days prior to the submission of a liquor license application that a person or entity intends to operate a business that needs a liquor license.

The NYSLA must approve the changes in advance if your business corporation or limited liability corporation is changing its corporate structure (i.e., adding or removing an officer or director, adding or removing a managing member, a change in the stockholders or the members, or any change in the stock or membership units held by an existing stockholder or member). However, no approval is needed if there are ten or more stockholders or members, the change involves less than 10% of the stock or ownership interest, and none of the existing stockholders or members with less than a 10% interest have their interest increased to 10% or more.

Be aware that the process for the transfer of license approval may take a long time to process. To help speed along the application process, the NYSLA has an attorney Self-Certification Program, where attorneys filing retail applications for a client can certify that statements and documents provided in the application are true and accurate and that the application meets all the statutory requirements.

The NYSLA’s Community Board FAQ provides detailed information on most requirements for applying for and transferring a liquor license. The experienced attorneys here at CMM are ready to help you through this process as your business evolves, along with any other business transaction needs.

Contact us today for more information.

Thank you to Ashley Cohen, Esq. for her contributions to this article.

Yermash Quoted in Newsday Regarding the New Law Widening Employer Exposure to Old Sexual Assault Claims

Posted: July 26th, 2022

By Jamie Herzlich, Newsday

Under recent legislation, adult survivors of sexual assault in New York can now have legal recourse even if the statute of limitations has passed against the alleged abuser and potentially the abuser’s employer for cases that could go back decades.

The Adult Survivors Act provides a one-year lookback window starting Nov. 24, 2022, for those sexually assaulted when they were over the age of 18 to bring forth civil claims, regardless of when the abuse occurred. They would have until Nov. 23, 2023 to file such claims. Previous legislation opened up such a window between 2019 and 2021 for those who were under 18.

This poses new challenges for companies in defending claims where the alleged abuse was tied to the workplace in some way, legal experts say.

It’s unclear if the Adult Survivors Act will result in as many lawsuits, but employers are definitely at risk, says Arthur Yermash, a partner in the Westbury office of Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP.

“The legal system’s built on statutes of limitation, which create a time frame during which any claim can be brought,” he says. “Once that door closes the risk of liability no longer exists. This reopens the door to the liability risk.”

Read full article on Newsday’s website