NHTSA, General Motors both Score Huge Victories in Congress

7/20/2015 Auto safety became political last week  on Capitol Hill as lawmakers debated a series of attachments to a transportation bill to be presented next month. Much of the debate went along partisan lines, with the Republican majority blocking several key measures surrounding the massive auto recall epidemic that has plagued the industry over the


A&P Files for Second Bankruptcy in Five Years

7/20/2015 It appears that a major piece of Americana will be gone within a short period of time. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known for over 150 years as A&P, is likely going out of business for good. The company filed papers late Sunday night for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S.


Legal Concepts: What is “Breach of Express Warranty”?

Hawaiian law protects consumers by making merchant sellers of a product liable to all consumers and users injured if a product fails to meet its express warranties. HRS § 490:2-313 explains, an express warranty is any affirmation, promises, description of the good, samples or models which is made part of the basis of the bargain


Grimm Outlook: Former Representative Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

7/19/2015 Former Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY) was sentenced on Friday to eight months in prison and one year of supervised released in a Brooklyn federal court after pleading guilty to tax evasion. Apologizing in front of Judge Pamela Chen, Grimm pleaded for the judge to avoid prison; however Chen said that she was troubled by the


NHTSA Deputy Administrator Friedman Leaves Agency for Energy Department Post

7/17/2015 Deputy administrator David Friedman, who oversaw the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the majority of its most challenging year ever, left the agency on Friday to take a position at the U.S. Energy Department. Former NHTSA head David Strickland left the agency in January 2014 to join Venable LLP, a law firm




What is Strict Products Liability?

Hawaii has long followed the Restatement (Second) of Torts Section 402A (1965) which sets out the elements a plaintiff must prove in a strict products liability case as: 1)    A defect in the product that rendered it unreasonably dangerous for its intended or reasonably foreseeable use; 2)    A causal connection between the defect and the


Tom Brady Threatens Federal Appeal if NFL Doesn’t Overturn Suspension

7/15/2015 According to Ryan Smith of ABC News, New England Patriots superstar quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) plan to file a challenge in federal court if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell does not overturn the four-game suspension he handed Brady in the aftermath of the Deflategate investigation. Brady was suspended on May