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Campolo, Middleton & McCormick’s M&A team has closed yet another deal during the pandemic. Vincent Costa headed the transaction team, representing the shareholder of a Suffolk County business that provides telecommunications products and services in New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, and surrounding areas. The deal involved the sale of all our client’s shares to a leading provider of computer network and telephone equipment, services, and software in New York, New Jersey, and New England. Despite the economic and logistical challenges of COVID-19, CMM helped push the deal across the finish line, working together with our client and the purchaser to find common ground and complete the transaction.

The deal demonstrates CMM’s ability to deliver enormous value and adapt during challenging circumstances. For guidance buying or selling a business or navigating your business challenges, contact us at (631) 738-9100.

Despite the economic havoc continuing to be felt across the country – or perhaps because of it – mergers and acquisitions on Long Island are red hot, as business owners and buyers alike seek out new opportunities. CMM recently helped one such business owner by successfully pushing a deal across the finish line, unhampered by these uncertain times.

Vincent Costa, with assistance from Corporate Paralegal Katharine Campolo, handled the asset sale on behalf of our client, a Suffolk County-based sheet metal fabricator that has produced customized parts for the aerospace, military, medical, and communication fields for nearly three decades. The buyer is also a local business, which means the deal not only helped our client start a new chapter; the deal will also help keep jobs and dollars on Long Island during this critical time.

Many business owners are turning these trying times into new opportunities by selling or restructuring their businesses. Contact us today for guidance.

First time’s the charm for CMM’s Richard DeMaio, who argued his first appeal in the Appellate Division, Second Department, and won! The Court’s decision is a spectacular outcome for our client, a Village on the East End, and demonstrates why municipalities turn to CMM for guidance with all aspects of their operations.

The appeal concerned the 2017 denial of a homeowner’s application for an area variance by the Village’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) with respect to lot size. The homeowner challenged the denial in Suffolk County Supreme Court via an Article 78 petition, but the Court denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding. Trying once more, the homeowner – seeking to subdivide the property into two lots – appealed that decision to the Appellate Division, Second Department, which sits in Brooklyn.

Under the guidance of CMM Senior Partner Scott Middleton, DeMaio drafted the appellate brief, outlining why the Supreme Court’s decision should be upheld on appeal. In his first oral argument before the Appellate Division, DeMaio argued that the Supreme Court properly found that Village’s denial of the variance application had a rational basis, because allowing a second lot on a property of less than the square footage set forth in the Village Code would cause an undesirable change in a neighborhood characterized by lots much larger than required by the Code. In its decision, the Appellate Division agreed, noting that the ZBA “engaged in the required balancing test and considered the relevant statutory factors.” Moreover, the Court noted that the homeowner was presumed to have known about the applicable zoning restrictions when he purchased the property, and therefore, any hardship was “self-created.”

This result is a major win for the Village, supporting its ability to make zoning decisions that preserve its character. Learn more about our Municipal and Appeals practices and call us at (631) 738-9100 for guidance.

The Guide Dog Foundation and its sister organization, America’s VetDogs, have announced the election of Joe Campolo to serve on the executive committee of the boards of directors. The executive committee oversees each board, providing counsel and oversight to advance the organizations’ missions to provide guide and service dogs and training – free of charge – to people who are blind or have low vision, and to those who have served our country honorably. Members of the boards of directors develop strategies and policies as well as ensuring proper resources are available to carry out its mission, monitor the finances of the organizations, its programs, and performance.

Joe Campolo is the managing partner of Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, recognized by Forbes as a Top Corporate Law Firm in America. He has spearheaded some of the most important initiatives in recent years to grow the regional economy and is the chairman of the HIA-LI board of directors. As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, he is passionate about veterans and veteran’s causes. 

“Joe has played an integral role on our board and I’m thrilled to have him join our executive committee,” said John Miller, president and CEO of the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs. “He has brought a wealth of experience and expertise in his field to our organizations and has embraced our mission to assist individuals with disabilities. With his strong background in leadership, Joe will be an asset on our executive committee as we further our missions.”

The Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs boards of directors comprise volunteer leaders from the medical, business, academic, and military and veteran communities. Members of the boards of directors set strategic direction and policy, and help raise awareness of the organizations’ services.

View Campolo’s recent discussion with Miller on “Business Unusual,” Campolo’s weekly business recovery webinar, here.