Solar slated for U.S. Courthouse
August 17, 2009 by Al Harris · 4 Comments
The brand-new federal courthouse in Richmond is already set for an upgrade.
The General Services Administration has posted a request for proposals to install a 200-kilowatt photovoltaic solar array on the roof of the Spottswood W. Robinson and Robert R. Merhige Jr. U.S. Courthouse.
The estimated contract is worth between $1 million and $5 million and is funded by a $5.5 billion slice of recovery money for converting hundreds of federal facilities into “high-performance green buildings.”
So far there are eight interested vendors, two from Virginia: Breakell Inc. of Roanoke and Legatus6 LLC of Fairfax.
The deadline for proposals is Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m.
You can read the notice here.
BB&T investment arm sued by Little Rock firm
July 24, 2009 by Al Harris · Leave a Comment
Scott & Stringfellow, the investment-banking subsidiary of BB&T, is being sued for stealing clients and company secrets as it recruited analysts from a competitor’s Richmond office.
Stephens Inc., an investment bank based in Little Rock, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Richmond last week against five former analysts who left the firm’s West End office to take higher-paying jobs at Scott & Stringfellow.
FedEx sues UPS over whiteboard ads
July 2, 2009 by David Larter · 1 Comment
One of Richmond’s most recognizable residents, Martin Agency celeb Andy Azula, is in the middle of a lawsuit between shipping giants.
The Memphis-based FedEx is suing Atlanta’s UPS over a recent commercial that features Azula and his now-famous whiteboard, according to the Memphis Daily News. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Memphis.
The rift is over a claim made in the ad where Azula says that UPS has been “ranked the most reliable” of shipping companies.
From the article:
One of FedEx’s main lines of attack continues to be the timeliness of the phrase “just ranked the most reliable” in the UPS ad.
“If you’re looking for a shipping company who really understands today’s economy, you’d want one that’s helped customers through 20 recessions, had over 400,000 employees worldwide, over a hundred years’ experience and was just ranked the most reliable,” the TV ad in question told viewers. “Well, that would be UPS.”
The basis of the UPS ad was a survey of shippers by the Morgan Stanley investment firm. FedEx believes the November survey methodology was flawed.
It also takes issue with UPS mentioning the claim it was “just ranked” on the basis of a November survey.
Lawyers from the two companies will meet later on this month to discuss the lawsuit.
Azula, who is the creative director at the Martin Agency, was never supposed to be in the commercial in the first place. He pitched the idea and then couldn’t find anyone who could write and talk at the same time. Last week the Wall Street Journal ran an article about him.
From the article:
Since 2007, Mr. Azula has appeared in 48 different 15- and 30-second TV spots (although he’s not sure how many of those spots have actually aired). These days, he gets recognized pretty much everywhere he goes. Strangers often ask him to draw them a picture. The most common question he gets is whether he actually does the whiteboard drawings in the ads. (The answer is yes.)
The whiteboard campaign was among the firm’s advertising successes in recent years that also include the Geico caveman commercials.
FedEx launched a site, www.brownbailout.com, that features a parody of the original whiteboard ads.
Security traders gone wild
June 24, 2009 by Al Harris · Leave a Comment
A lawsuit filed by a former Scott & Stringfellow employee — a fellow who allegedly “mooned” his trading floor co-workers in Charlotte — was recently tossed out of U.S. District Court in Richmond.
Timothy Martin was hired in 2004 at age 51 to work in the firm’s Charlotte office selling distressed CMBS loans. After a dispute arose over how Martin was being compensated, he alleges that his supervisor, William Cameron, said trading was “a young people’s game” and that he was “too old to want to be a trader.”
Martin was later transferred to the Richmond office and worked there briefly before he resigned, citing a hostile work environment based on his age.
The court opinion is an interesting read as it details Martin’s rocky tenure at the firm. Throughout his time there, he repeatedly e-mailed higher-ups about his distaste for his supervisor, alleged an affair between his supervisor and his secretary (in an e-mail to a co-worker, he referred to her as Cameron’s “little bitch”), allegedly told a client the firm was in dire financial straits and, in 2005, allegedly displayed his bare buttocks to the trading floor of the Charlotte office.
Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly has a copy of the court opinion hosted here.
Phish rocks legal case against bootleggers
March 4, 2009 by Al Harris · Leave a Comment
The jam band Phish is not only kicking off their reunion tour in Virginia this weekend, but the band is also launching a legal battle with bootleg merchandise sellers.
On Thursday, A U.S. District Judge in the federal court in Richmond will consider a request from the band to block the sale of unauthorized shirts, posters, and other paraphernalia at concert events, according to the Associated Press.
The band is scheduled to play three sold-out shows this weekend at Hampton Coliseum.
If the request is approved, police will be able to seize the unlicensed merchandise. The band is also seeking unspecified damages from companies and individuals caught selling the bootleg memorabilia.
