Category Archives: Reputation Risk

Игроки всегда ценят удобный и стабильный доступ к играм. Для этого идеально подходит зеркало Вавады, которое позволяет обходить любые ограничения, обеспечивая доступ ко всем бонусам и слотам.

Willis to Sponsor Brooklyn Nets Arena; Joe Plumeri Looking Forward to Working with Jay-Z

Posted on by

Just days after Aon officially unveiled its new, marque sports sponsorship, rival insurance broker Willis has announced one of its own. OK, it hasn’t aligned with the most popular soccer team in the world like Aon. But Willis has partnered with the arena that will soon be home to the worst team in the NBA …

… so there’s that.

All kidding aside, though, partnering with the the Nets future home, the Barclays Center, should be a good move for Willis.

Sure, the New Jersey Nets finished with the worst record of any professional basketball team last season, but they are on the rise and will soon be moving to Brooklyn (likely by 2012). For a company that has been reinventing itself and quickly expanding its reach over the past few years — first with a game-changing acquisition of HRH in 2008 and then in buying the world-renowned Sears Tower in 2009 — this is just another targeted get-the-name-out-there move.

New York is the world financial capital and, now, Willis will have a presence alongside what is sure to be a major headline-grabbing organization for years to come. When it comes to the big three professional sports leagues in the United States (the NFL, MLB and NBA), there hasn’t been a new franchise in the city since the New York Mets were founded in 1962. And Brooklyn hasn’t had its own team since the Dodgers left for California in 1958. Although there is some major opposition to arena that Willis will be putting its name within (mostly due to a corporate, revenue-seeking stadium being put square in the heart of the borough and displacing many long-time residents), there is little doubt that the NBA team that plays there will also be embraced by many others. Within its first few weeks there — even if the team is not great — the Brooklyn Nets will become one of the toughest tickets to get in all of New York. There will be buzz aplenty about the Barclays Center.

So it’s no wonder that Joe Plumeri is excited to team up with the Barclays Center, the future home of the Nets.

“Brooklyn is a great global brand that’s reaching new heights with the Barclays Center. The borough has earned a storied place in sports mythology, from the heroics at Ebbets Field to being the birthplace of legends such as Vince Lombardi, Joe Torre and Joe Paterno,” said Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis.

buy zyprexa online sinusys.com/email/img/jpg/zyprexa.html no prescription pharmacy

“Willis helps manage the world’s most complex risks, and we look forward to both helping the Barclays Center through its multi-faceted construction process and, when the arena is opened, to working with Mikhail Prokhorov, Bruce Ratner, Brett Yormark, Jay-Z and their team to carry Jackie Robinson’s legacy forward and bring a new generation of champions to Brooklyn and New York.”

Yes, that’s right.

Plumeri is looking forward to working with rap mogul Jay-Z, who is a minority owner of the team.

buy periactin online sinusys.com/email/img/jpg/periactin.html no prescription pharmacy

buy temovate online https://royalcitydrugs.com/temovate.html no prescription

 It seems fitting, then, that just a few years after we published an article about Jay-Z’s enormous endorsement power, Joe is now signing on to sponsor a team Jay (sorta) owns. Maybe he can get Mr. Z to rhyme a few songs about insurance broking?

Crazier things have happened.

Jay-Z-Prokhorov-BluePrint

Along with minority owner/rap legend Jay-Z and real owner/Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, Willis is joining the Nets Brooklyn blueprint for greatness by partnering with the Barclays Center that will become the team’s home.

buy strattera online sinusys.com/email/img/jpg/strattera.html no prescription pharmacy

Distracted Driving on Company Time . . .

Posted on by

. . . A Risk Manager’s Worst Nightmare.

That was the title of the webinar I participated in yesterday, hosted by Risk and Insurance. Speaking on the topic were:

  • Dexter Hamilton, member and general/commercial litigator at Cozen O’Connor
  • Jami McClellan, senior risk engineering consultant at Zurich
  • Paul Bomberger, editor in chief of Risk and Insurance

Without wasting any time, the panel began discussion about various studies published in the recent past that highlight the dangers of distracted driving. Not only is it hazardous to those behind the wheel, but if the driver is talking on a work-issued phone, or about work-related issues, or driving a company-owned vehicle, the company stands liable.

According to webinar, there is no difference in distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices. In not-so-obvious news, distracted driving is one of the top insurance losses — averaging $100,000 per incident.

The panelists highlighted several cases of companies that were required to pay hefty sums for on-the-road accidents caused by their employees.

One such case involved a brokerage firm whose employee was driving his personal vehicle but talking about company business on his cell phone. The driver hit and severely injured a motorcyclist while talking on his phone. His employer was forced to pay $500,000 to settle the case.

“There’s simply going to be no sympathy once an accident happens,” said Hamilton. “And companies must realize that brand destruction is very critical. A high-profile accident can harm the brand everyone worked so hard to maintain and promote.”

For another example we can turn to the case of Tiburzi v Holmes, which involved Jeffrey Knight, who was a driver for Holmes Transport & Logistics, and Mark Tiburzi, who was driving his personal vehicle at the time. Knight caused an accident that injured 15 and killed three in St. Louis, Missouri. One of those injured was Tiburzi, who suffered severe traumatic brain injury. The cause of the accident? Along with excessive speed and driving over the alloted on-duty hours, distraction was blamed — Knight had looked away from the road to check his cell phone. The jury awarded Tiburzi $18 million — to be paid by Knight’s employer.

For more on this topic, check out “Unsafe at Any Speed” in Risk Management magazine.

distracted driving

No Rest for Toyota

Posted on by

As Toyota continues to plagued by safety recalls (this week, the automaker recalled 17,000 Lexus hybrids for faulty gas tanks), the company is facing legal trouble of another matter, this time over a patent controversy that could result in a ban of Toyota hybrids altogether.

This patent fight originally began in 2004, when Paice LLC, a Florida-based hybrid technology company, sued Toyota for using its patented technology in second-generation Prius vehicles. The court ruled that Toyota had infringed on Paice’s patent and Toyota filed multiple appeals, losing each time. According to Forbes, Toyota has paid $5 million in damages and a small fraction of the court-ordered license fee of $98 a car while it challenges future royalties. In the latest case, Paice is claiming that Toyota’s third-generation hybrids are also infringing on its patents and that Toyota is not paying enough in royalties.

buy trazodone online https://ozgurmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/trazodone.html no prescription pharmacy

Paice is ultimately hoping to get the International Trade Commission to ban Toyota hybrids altogether. Toyota has fought to get the case dismissed but to no avail.

According to one expert, who commented on the case last year, a ban is unlikely. But if it does happen, Toyota would be looking at production delays, the inability to sell hybrid vehicles in the United States and millions of dollars in lost revenue while it inevitably tries to work out a licensing agreement.

When taken with the ongoing recall fiasco, this patent infringement mess is further evidence of the difference a year can make in business.

buy ivermectin online https://ozgurmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/ivermectin.html no prescription pharmacy

This time last year, Toyota was seen as the industry gold standard.

But their ongoing troubles paint a picture of a car company that seems to have gotten caught up in believing its own press and lost sight of key details, like safety and technology, that helped make it great. A company that once was the model for quality is quickly becoming a textbook example of the dangers of complacency.

hybrid

The Risks of Social Media: Legal Limits

Posted on by

social media

As we all know by now, social media can be both a great marketing and networking tool, as well as a good excuse for employment termination if mishandled — or worse, a lawsuit.

For instance, did you know that the Federal Trade Commission is watching those social media sites that promote a product or service? In the FTC’s December 2009 guidelines, it states that, among other things, those promoting a product/service on the internet (via Facebook, Twitter or any other form of social media) must incorporate a disclosure page or statement telling of the financial agreement between those giving testimonials about the product/service and the company itself.

Under the Guidelines, endorsements must reflect the genuine beliefs or opinions of the endorser and cannot otherwise be deceptive. In addition, the endorser must be a bona fide user of anything given of value to the endorser. For example, a blogger who reviews a product given to her for that purpose should disclose that it was provided by the manufacturer, and not purchased. Most do not follow this simple rule.

Understanding the legal implications of what is presented on your social media site can be confusing. To break it all down for us, Law.com issued a nice online article this morning, entitled “Minimizing the Legal Risks of Using Online Social Networks.” In our continuing coverage of the risks of social media, I present you with a breakdown of the piece:

  • Copyright: If you are using text, audio, video or images on your site that you did not create yourself, you may be violating an individual’s or organization’s copyright. However, if your posting qualifies as “fair use,” then use of the content will most likely not be questioned. Common situations of fair use include criticism, comment, news reporting and education.
  • Trademark: As the article states, “If you are using another’s trademark, you may be liable for infringement, where the owner can establish that your use of its mark or a mark similar to it will likely cause consumer confusion as to the source of the material.” And if it is proven that your conduct diluted the strength of the owner’s trademark, there may be potential for further liability.
  • Defamation: This is a huge topic in the realm of social media and the risks involved. In general terms, a defamatory statement is “a false and disparaging statement about another which causes injury to reputation (or in some cases causes emotional distress).” Along with individuals, businesses and products can also be defamed, sometimes causing reputation and financial damage (cue lawsuit).
  • Confidentiality: This section is geared towards those whose profession involves confidentiality agreements (lawyers, doctors, advisers, etc.). If there is proof of a breach of this agreement, possible sanctions “may include termination of employment, loss of professional license, potential significant civil liability (such as in the context of trade secret dissemination), or even criminal liability.”

These are just a few of the potential legal risks of social media. And as society continues to move to even more of an online presence (for both personal and business aspects), we will continue to learn the possible implications of a web 2.0 world.