Get ready to say goodbye to waiver
of consumer class actions
A return to the dark ages; compliance is critical

Dealers should get ready for the return of the days of consumer class actions seeking rescission of four years worth of deal files. A drastic change in the law may revive these killer class actions in mid-2017. Here, at the Scali Law Firm, we've been advocating corporate compliance and ethics programs due, in part, to this impending change, so that dealers can limit their liability before the change goes into effect.

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Dealers have to provide suitable seating to their employees under specified circumstances
Do you know what they are?

The California Supreme Court has provide some clarity regarding "suitable seating" requirements for employees. To avoid a class action, Dealers should conduct a review and analysis now to determine compliance.

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Accommodation once removed
A court’s expanded approach to an employer’s duty to accommodate a disabilty

There's loads of instructional case authority interpreting employer obligations to reasonably accommodate disabilities under the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA") and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). But there's little pertaining to associational disability discrimination (yeah, it's a thing—discrimination against a person based on that person's association or relationship with someone who has a disability). 

Until now.

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Dealership buy sell transactions and customer privacy

Customer information is often one of the many assets transferred in the sale of a dealership. Customer information is subject to privacy, solicitation, and data security laws regulating its disclosure and use. This article provides a basic overview of some of the main privacy concerns that a selling dealer faces when transferring customer information.

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Use the Graves Amendment to bury that lawsuit

Lawsuits arising from motor vehicle collisions often include a claim against the owner of the vehicle because California law permits an award of damages against the vehicle owner for the negligence of a permissive user. For dealers operating their own vehicle rental operation the potential liability, as well as the cost of defending the lawsuit, is a significant burden. Our firm has successfully used a provision of federal law, commonly known as the Graves Amendment, to convince plaintiff’s lawyers not to file suit against our rental company clients, or to defeat the vicarious liability claim on summary judgment. 

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How auto dealers can prep for DOL's new overtime rules

With all the recent publicity surrounding increases in state and local minimum wage requirements and concern about how those increases could affect auto dealers, recent changes to another set of employee compensation rules have received substantially less attention. The U.S Department of Labor has made changes to its regulations that will more than double minimum salary requirements for while collar workers, which warrants proactive planning on the part of dealers and businesses in general.

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Beverly Hills could drive autonomous vehicle revolution

Beverly Hills is known for its swanky stores and hotels with first-class service. But for your next visit, the driver of your shuttle might be a software program.

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