In the courtroom, at the conference table, and in the community, Scali Rasmussen (SR) continues its efforts to regularly keep clients and friends apprised of useful news, views and resources that can impact your business. Below are some highlights of our activities over the past year.

Client wins

• In a multimillion dollar transaction, SR represented a major, automotive dealer group in its sale to an international dealer group
• SR is representing a large group of BMW motorcycle dealers in protests challenging BMW’s unilateral changes to its dealer contract
• SR prevailed on a motion to compel arbitration in an employment case where the agreement was alleged to be procedurally and substantively unconscionable
• In another employment matter, SR succeeded on demurrer arguing that a statute of limitations cause was not intended to revive a pre-COVID-19 cause of action that could have been brought within statute of limitations
• In a dealership’s bad faith claim against its insurance carrier following the insurer’s refusal to pay a claim arising from a devastating fire loss, SR successfully opposed the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and the matter was ordered to trial on all counts; additionally, SR further prevailed against the insurer’s multiple efforts to get the court to change is ruling and instead dismiss the dealer’s request for punitive damages against the insurer for its bad faith conduct

Industry recognition

 

• SR Shareholders Bert Rasmussen and Christian Scali were named “Legal Visionaries” by the Los Angeles Times as part of the publication’s second annual Business of Law special edition
• SR Shareholder Christian Scali was honored as a “Business Leader of Influence” by the Los Angeles Business Journal
• SR Litigator Colleen O’Brien was named a “Woman of Influence" by the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Los Angeles Times recognized her as a “Top Business Leader in Los Angeles”

In the news

• In an effort spearheaded by SR Shareholder and diversity leader Jeffrey Erdman, the firm sponsored a series of grants to benefit trans and nonbinary law graduates of color established by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
• SR doubled down on our donations to SAGE, a national non-profit serving LGBTQ+ older adults
• SR Shareholder Christian Scali was elected to the Executive Board as Vice President for the Auto Dealers Office Management Association’s (ADOMA), a group comprised of business managers and human resource directors
• The Los Angeles Daily Journal, the leading legal publication in Southern California, turned to SR Shareholder Bert Rasmussen for insight into the prospective acquisition of Activision by Microsoft
• SR published a column in Wards Auto entitled “Federal Regulators Updating Consumer Data Privacy Rules”
• SR Shareholder Christian Scali was a featured presenter on, “New Laws Affecting Auto Dealers” at the Auto Dealers Office Management Association’s (ADOMA) Business Management Conference; he also moderated a roundtable discussion on payroll and pay practices
• SR Litigator Colleen O’Brien and attorney Janae Hill attended Defense Research Institute’s (DR) Diversity and Inclusion Conference
• Employment attorney Jasmin Bhandari was elevated to lead SR’s Labor & Employment practice