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Saul Ewing, LLP

Riley Comments on Class Action Lawsuit Against Coldwell Banker Burnet
Francis X. Riley, III, a Partner in the Litigation Department in the Princeton office, was quoted at length in this article regarding the class action lawsuit brought against real estate firm Coldwell Banker Burnet.

The complaint states that proper Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) disclosures were provided, but that the disclosures weren't enough to satisfy Coldwell Banker's fiduciary duty to clients. The lawsuit also alleges that Coldwell Banker knowingly directed its customers to a higher priced affiliated title company.

A violation of consumer fraud or unfair and deceptive trade practices statutes could be viewed as "unconscionable commercial practices," a concept which New Jersey courts view as a broad business ethic that implies a lack of good faith, honesty in fact and observance of fair dealing, Mr. Riley said.

“It is not difficult to predict that the plaintiffs' bar may seize on the factual assertions made against Burnet as a basis for a consumer fraud claim, exposing real estate companies and their sales associates to potential treble damages, attorneys' fees and costs under the statute,” Mr. Riley said.

"With respect to a claim brought pursuant to these types of consumer fraud statutes, I don't view there to be an issue of federal preemption. Rather, the issue is whether defendant's can convince a judge that the RESPA disclosure requirements are the only standard of care applicable to the determination of whether their conduct was a reasonable or unreasonable commercial practice.

03-22-2007

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Salans

Salans flies with „Atmosfair“
Each flight causes CO2 gases which are harmful to the environment and one of the main causes for climatic change. However, flights cannot be avoided in today's global business traffic. Therefore, more and more companies are willingly to make a contribution to climate protection. The Berlin office of the international law firm Salans pays from now on for each flight a CO2 fee to the environmental non-profit organisation "Atmosfair". The organisation finances with each contribution global climate protection projects in India, Brazil and Thailand to save greenhouse gases elsewhere on the long-run.

"As an international law firm and professional frequent fliers we want to make a financial contribution and give our support to global climate protection projects in order to do something for CO2 reduction and compensation", comments Detlef Olufs, Managing Partner at Salans Berlin his decision for an active investment in the future of the environment.

The objective of "Atmosfair" is to evenly compensate greenhouse gas emissions which are caused during a flight with a financial contribution to climate projects. The fee is calculated on the consideration of the flight's altitude and distance and amounts on the average of 3% of the total flight costs.

The environmental non-profit organisation "Atmosfair" was founded in 2004 by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The patrons of the initiative are apart from the Federal German Government, Prof Dr Klaus Töpfer, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Prof Dr Mojib Latif from the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Kiel.

03-22-2007

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Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP

Riker Danzig Congratulates Its 2007 Super Lawyers
Riker Danzig congratulates its four attorneys who were named to the top 100 list for 2007 Super Lawyers: Mike Furey, Dennis Krumholz, Dennis O’Grady, and Anne Patterson. We also congratulate partners Anne Patterson and Sandra Brown Sherman, who were named among the top 50 female Super Lawyers in 2007. We are pleased that 31 of our attorneys were named to the 2007 Super Lawyer list.

Our Super Lawyers:

Gerald A. Liloia
Jan L. Bernstein
Samuel P. Moulthrop
Dennis J. O'Grady
Andrew J. Stamelman
Jeffrey B. Wagenbach
Kenneth M. Van Deventer
Anthony J. Sylvester
Sandra Brown Sherman
Glenn A. Clark
Anne M. Patterson
Shawn L. Kelly
Dennis J. Krumholz
Sigrid S. Franzblau
Edward K. DeHope
Michael K. Furey
Mark S. Rattner
Robert J. Schoenberg
Marilynn R. Greenbergtcy
William G. Connolly
J. Alex Kress
Stuart M. Lederman
James C. Meyer
Brian E. O'Donnell
Michael R. O'Donnell
Scott A. Ohnegian
Mary Kathryn Roberts
Joseph L. Schwartz
Nicholas Racioppi, Jr.
Stewart G. Pollock
Lance J. Kalik

03-22-2007

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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo P.C.

Gil Casellas Presents at the ABA's National EEO Law Conference
Mintz Levin attorney, Gil Casellas, presented "Selected Best Practices in Workforce Diversity" as part of the panel "Diversity and Affirmative Action: Legal Challenges," at the American Bar Association's National EEO Law Conference in Charleston, SC, March 22, 2007.

Gil practices in the firm's Washington office in the Employment, Labor and Benefits Section where he advises national and international companies and institutions on domestic and global workforce diversity issues and claims arising under U.S. employment discrimination laws.

03-22-2007

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Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein P.C.

TREELINE GROWS IN GARDEN CITY
In a move that lets it control a significant chunk of Garden City’s office space, Treeline Cos. snapped up the four-building Franklin Avenue Plaza, a source close to the deal confirmed.

The $98.7 million purchase was first reported by Long Island Business News in January.

Treeline, which partnered with First Point Partners in Manhattan, could not be reached for comment. Manhattan-based seller Cammeby's International, which owns millions of square feet of industrial space Islandwide, also could not be reached.

The acquisition brings Treeline's total in the tony Nassau area to more than 1.5 million square feet and boosts its control of the central Nassau submarket's Class A office space to nearly 30 percent.

Since its 1985 start, family-run Treeline has quietly built itself into a dominant regional player. It owns a dozen properties clustered in downtown Brooklyn and Garden City, a market attractive because of its proximity to state and county courts, the sprawling Roosevelt Field Mall and the planned redevelopment of the 77 acres surrounding the Nassau Coliseum.

Franklin Avenue Plaza, built around 1980, is said by Treeline to be 520,000 square feet, though some brokers put it closer to 400,000. The complex includes 1205, 1225, 1305 and 1325 Franklin Ave., and is home to Allstate Insurance Co., Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia.

Treeline's tenant roster includes Internet retailer 1-800-Flowers.com, headquartered in the 315,000-square-foot 1 Old Country Road.

It also owns 573,000 square feet in four buildings known as Garden City Plaza. Late last year, it purchased the 207,000-square-foot Atria East, the Stewart Avenue home of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein P.C., a powerful Island firm.

03-22-2007

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Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein P.C.

JUDGE OK DELPHI FIRST HALF '07 EXECUTIVE BONUSES
A U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled on Thursday that Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ.PK: Quote, Profile , Research) may pay up to $37.4 million in bonuses to executives for the first six months of 2007, despite objections from the auto parts maker's unions.

"It's not the case that every dollar that goes into an executive's pocket is a dollar out of a (worker's) pocket," Judge Robert Drain said in ruling that the payments clearly are a part of the salary plan and not a "handout."

Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2005, remains in talks with its unions over proposed wage and benefit cuts and other issues necessary to complete its reorganization.


Some 440 executives could receive payments ranging from a total $20.1 million if Delphi met operating targets to a maximum of $37.4 million under the plan Drain approved in a hearing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

It is "necessary (for the) executive team to be compensated at least somewhat comfortably," said Drain, who approved Delphi's requests for similar payments in 2006.

Union lawyers argued the incentive plan was a "distraction" or "impediment" to the unions' negotiations with Delphi.

A lawyer representing the United Steelworkers union, Lowell Peterson, reported a high "frustration level" among the rank and file that negotiations have not advanced in six monthsJudge Drain said he "strongly urged" Delphi and the unions to "put every effort" into negotiations.

Delphi lawyer Jack Butler declined to comment on the status of union negotiations.

"I think the judge has an expectation that the principal stakeholders in this case will be actively negotiating 24/7 to try to resolve the barriers to emergence from Chapter 11," Butler said. "That message was heard loud and clear."

Delphi has delayed consideration of a key employee compensation plan, which would include payments to executives for completing the reorganization, until later in the process.


Troy, Michigan-based Delphi plans to cut about four-fifths of its U.S. hourly workers and thousands of salaried workers worldwide to restructure its operations. It also plans to exit several businesses.

Private equity firms have proposed a $3.4 billion equity investment to support Delphi's emergence from bankruptcy, contingent on the company reaching agreements with its unions and former parent General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile , Research)

In afternoon Pink Sheets trading, Delphi shares were off 8 cents, or 2.8 percent, at $2.79.

03-22-2007

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Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, L.L.P.

Independent Truck Stop Owners Sue Comdata for Allegedly Violating the Antitrust Laws and Overcharging Small Businesses and Consumers
This week two antitrust class action lawsuits were filed by Marchbanks Truck Service, Inc. and Universal Delaware, Inc. on behalf of a proposed class of all independent truck stops challenging a variety of illegal conduct allegedly engaged in by Comdata, owner of the monopoly credit card system used by practically every truck stop in the United States. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Philadephia charges that Comdata has harmed competition by using its market dominance to impair the ability of rival card issuers to challenge Comdata's monopoly.

"Comdata's practices have cost independent truck stops millions of dollars in excessive fees, have prevented truck stops from using more efficient and less costly forms of payment, and ultimately have hurt consumers," said David Balto one of the attorneys in the case.

Comdata is based in Brentwood, Tennessee and is a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corporation. Ceridian has also been named in the suit, which alleges that in the mid-1990s Comdata acquired its chief truck stop card rival (NTS) and the monopoly point of sale system (Trendar). After becoming a monopolist in the truck stop card and point of sale system markets, Comdata changed its pricing system and significantly increased card fees paid by independent truck stops relative to fees charged to the chain truck stops.

Chain truck stops (such as Pilot, Petro, and Travel Centers of America) typically pay about 50 cents a transaction. Independent truck stops pay a percentage of the value of the transactions, typically over 2%. Given that the vast majority of affected transactions, which usually involve truckers buying large quantities of diesel fuel, are far in excess of $25, the card fee independents pay is almost always significantly greater than the 50 cent fee chain truck stops pay. The difference in charges costs independent truck stops millions of dollars annually, impedes competition by independent truck stops and ultimately leads to all consumers paying more.

"Comdata's conduct threatens the independent truck stop marketplace," said Mr. Balto. "Among other concerns, Comdata's pricing scheme has placed independent truck stops, typically family-owned, at a substantial disadvantage to the chain truck stops."
The law suit seeks treble damages for the overcharges to the plaintiffs and the proposed class of independent truck stops, and an injunction to prevent the ongoing anticompetitive conduct.

Plaintiffs are also represented by Eric L. Cramer of the Philadelphia law firm of Berger & Montague, P.C. and Joseph Saveri of the San Francisco law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP.

03-22-2007

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