Daily Business Report-Nov. 24, 2020
The CaseyGerry legal team representing Angela Bolger, from left: Thomas D. Luneau, Jeremy Robinson and Jillian F. Hayes. (Photo courtesy of CaseyGerry)
California Supreme Court denies Amazon’s
petition for review in local product liability
case argued by San Diego law firm
The California Supreme Court has denied Amazon’s Petition for Review in Bolger v. Amazon – a landmark case in which the California Court of Appeal held Amazon strictly liable for a defective battery sold on its marketplace that caused catastrophic burn injuries to Angela Bolger. San Diego law firm CaseyGerry represented Bolger in the case.
The San Diego-based Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One ruled in August that Amazon, like other retailers, can be held strictly liable for defective products sold on its virtual marketplace. “Following the ruling, Amazon requested review by the California Supreme Court and also asked the high court to “depublish” the opinion, which would strip it of any precedential value,” said CaseyGerry attorney Jeremy Robinson, who argued the appeal. “Amazon argued that the Court of Appeal drastically expanded strict liability in California and took an ‘unprecedented leap’ when it found that Amazon was strictly liable for a defective replacement laptop battery that exploded several months after purchase.”
“Despite Amazon’s claims, the high court denied Amazon’s petition as well as the request to have the case depublished,” Robinson said. “This means the opinion will remain the only published appellate decision in the country holding Amazon strictly liable for a product sold on its marketplace.”
Angela Bolger was a San Diego resident when explosion happened, but now she lives in Denver.
“This is an important victory not only for Ms. Bolger but for all consumers in California,” said Robinson.
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Environmental lawsuit filed against
Midway District redevelopment
By Dave Schwab | sdnews.com
Voter-approved Measure E, which removes the decades-old 30-foot height limit from the Midway District and Pechanga Arena area, has another hurdle to clear: an environmental lawsuit.
Ballot Measure E was an exception to Prop. D passed in 1972 to preserve coastal views and prevent the proliferation of high rises. The measure, which required a simple majority, passed on Nov. 3 by 350,291 to 268,942 votes.
The environmental challenge was filed back in August in San Diego Superior Court by Save Our Access, a nonprofit corporation opposing Measure E. Save Our Access claims E is a thinly veiled attempt by developers to grab land and erode Prop. D coastal-height protections.
“The city failed to consider the environmental impacts associated with the project, failed to prepare and circulate required environmental analysis, failed to consider feasible alternatives and mitigation,” read state excerpts from the Save Our Access lawsuit. “Petitioner seeks writs of mandate (a court order to follow the law by correcting its prior actions or ceasing illegal acts) declaring the city’s approvals invalid, and enjoining the city from taking steps to implement the approvals.”
Read more…
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Industrial property long occupied
by SDG&E sells for $15 million
Times of San Diego
An industrial property long used by San Diego Gas & Electric has been sold to an undisclosed buyer for $15 million. CBRE’s Bill Dolan and Ryan Sparks represented the seller, a partnership controlled by RAF Pacifica Group, an Encinitas-based real estate development firm. CBRE will handle leasing duties on behalf of the new owner.
Located on Consolidated Way near MCAS Miramar, the 82,781 square-foot building has heavy power, 22’ clear height, and dock-high loading making it suitable for a variety of manufacturing, warehouse or distribution uses.
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State mandates emergency workplace COVID-19
protections, less crowding for farmworkers
CalMatters
California’s businesses must follow new rules to protect workers from getting coronavirus on the job, while harvesting companies must minimize overcrowding in guest farmworker housing following a California Divide investigation that uncovered rampant coronavirus outbreaks this summer among a low-wage workforce putting fresh produce on America’s kitchen table.
The rulemaking body for the state’s workplace safety agency voted unanimously today to approve the requirements as part of a broader package of protections aimed at protecting millions of workers from getting coronavirus on the job. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s emergency standard is expected to take effect within 10 days and may be extended for up to 14 months.
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Kratos acquires 5-D Systems Inc.
San Diego-based Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. announced the acquisition of 5-D Systems Inc., a systems and software engineering company with facilities in the Austin, Texas area and in Huntsville, Ala. 5-D is well-known in the defense/aerospace industry for its more than 20 years of experience as a small business designing, developing, integrating, testing, modifying and supporting unmanned, manned, and optionally-piloted vehicles aviation systems.
In addition to developing systems for the Department of Defense and other major customers, 5-D has been a subcontractor/teammate of Kratos on many of its systems and programs including the XQ-58A and aerial target systems. 5-D’s core philosophies align well with Kratos’ affordability mantra and development/application of leading edge, rather than bleeding edge, technology.
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TrellisWare Technologies proves advanced
communications capabilities during demo
TrellisWare Technologies Inc., a San Diego communications company, announced the successful completion of a major demonstration for the U.S. military in which more than 800 radios were networked together in a single radio frequency (RF) channel.
TrellisWare’s milestone event showcased advanced communications capabilities, including massive scalability of 811 radios on a single 3.6 MHz channel, forming a fully operational network that included rapid position location information (PLI) refresh for every radio, voice, and Command and Control (C2) data.
Several TrellisWare radios were used for the fully interoperable network demonstration, including the new body-worn TW-860 TSM Spirit radio, the handheld TW-950 TSM Shadow radio, the vehicular/manpack TW-135 TSM Shadow High Power radio (HPR), and small form factor TW-875 TSM Ghost radio; as well as other radios.
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Breaking Barriers: A graduate
business diversity initiative
The University of San Diego School of Business is announcing the Breaking Barriers initiative, which seeks to remove barriers to entry for minority and low-income students to pursue a graduate business degree at USD.
Graduate business applicants are often required to take a standardized test, the GMAT, as one application requirement. Preparing for the exam and the cost of the exam itself can present a challenge to some. USD’s Breaking Barriers initiative will provide a package of financial assistance to overcome this initial barrier students face.
Recipients of the Breaking Barriers package will receive:
- a cost-free online GMAT test prep course from Magoosh ($249 value)
- a cost-free GMAT examination ($275 value)
- a waived application fee ($125 value)
- a guaranteed diversity scholarship (maximum award amount of up to $10,000). Some graduate business programs may award additional scholarship funds based on merit.
A total of ten packages are available for USD’s participating graduate business programs, which are now accepting applications with a deadline of January 5.
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San Diego State University honored as a
‘Recycler of the Year’ by City of San Diego
San Diego State University’s efforts to promote recycling and waste reduction have been recognized with a “Recycler of the Year” award from the City of San Diego. From an emphasis on recycling in the residence halls to improved composting at restaurants, SDSU is bolstering its green credentials.
The award from the city’s Environmental Services Department recognizes efforts undertaken in 2019 and the university’s role in helping the city achieve its own waste reduction goals. SDSU credited EDCO, its recycling and waste removal contractor, as a partner in the effort and for finding domestic markets for recycled materials.
SDSU’s Office of Sustainability, part of Facilities Services, hired interns last year to increase landfill diversion of solid waste produced at the university, among other goals. “Zero Waste” intern Charlotte Roberts worked with several restaurants at South Campus Plaza and other new locations to show them how to separate kitchen scraps for composting and to divert recyclable trash instead of dumping the materials into landfill bins.
Roberts also helped the office analyze waste hauler data to improve the way in which service schedules are tied to the quantity of materials for pickup. Suspending pickups during slow periods saves on fees paid by SDSU.
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New study points to a better way
to ward off asthma triggers
Every day, ten Americans die from asthma. While quick-acting inhalers and medications can reduce inflammation during an asthma attack, people with asthma have few tools to prevent the next attack from coming.
Now researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered that blocking two immune molecules at the same time is key to preventing asthma attacks in a mouse model.
“We have found a way to block the acute asthmatic inflammatory response—and we saw a strong, long-lasting reduction in asthma exacerbations,” says Michael Croft, Ph.D., professor at LJI and senior author of the new study, published Nov. 5, 2020, in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
When a person with allergies encounters an asthma trigger, harmful T cells boost their numbers in the lungs and release molecules that cause inflammation. The new study shows how to throw a wrench in this process.
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Viasat to accelerate European broadband strategy
Viasat Inc. announced it will strengthen its European presence by purchasing the remaining 51 percent share of Euro Broadband Infrastructure (EBI), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat’s former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.
The purchase price will be funded with available cash, resulting in a cash outlay of
$592.7 million, net of approximately $106.6 million of EBI’s cash on hand.
EBI provides fixed and mobile broadband services on a wholesale basis in the European and Mediterranean markets.
The wholesale business adds to Viasat’s established retail broadband services business in Europe where Viasat is offering enhanced home internet service in select European countries, including Spain, Norway and Poland.
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A record 80 percent of state voters
say state and local taxes are high
CalMatters
In another sign that California’s tax revolt is alive and well, a record 81 percent of voters said state and local taxes are high, up 20 percent from 2008, according to a poll released Friday by UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies. Another 78 percent of voters said that California taxes were so high they were driving many people and businesses out of the state.
The distaste for higher taxes likely drove the failure of Prop. 15, which would have hiked commercial property taxes and funneled revenue into local governments and schools. And although voters approved a majority of local tax measures to support schools in November, they defeated at least half of 236 local tax measures in the March primary, including one-third of school bond proposals.
IGS Co-director Eric Schickler: “While California voters generally endorse greater government involvement in many public policy areas, concerns about tax levels continue to be a major obstacle to generating the funds necessary to pay for those programs.”
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Naval Medical Logistics Command selects Leidos
for research into warfighter operational readiness
Leidos, a FORTUNE 500 science and technology company, has been awarded a contract by Naval Medical Logistics Command in San Diego to continue to perform operational medicine and warfighter performance research for the Naval Health Research Center’s (NHRC) Operational Readiness Directorate. The single award contract holds a maximum value of $82 million. It includes a 60-month period of performance. Work will primarily be performed at NHRC in San Diego.
Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended Jan. 3, 2020.
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San Diego Housing Commission to receive
100 additional rental housing vouchers
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) has been awarded 100 new federal rental housing vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Mainstream Voucher program to help pay rent for households with low income or experiencing homelessness that include adults between the ages of 18 and 61 who have disabilities.
The additional Mainstream Vouchers awarded to SDHC have an estimated annual value of up to $1,291,128. HUD previously has awarded SDHC 108 Mainstream Vouchers in the last two years.
Similar to other rental housing vouchers, with Mainstream Vouchers, the household pays a predetermined portion of their income toward their rent. SDHC pays the remainder of the rent directly to their landlord on their behalf, up to the applicable payment standard. The payment standard is the maximum subsidy payment a voucher would pay for a rental housing unit, based on the number of bedrooms approved for the family’s size and the community to which the family moves.
Overall, SDHC helps pay rent for more than 16,000 households with low income in the City of San Diego.
