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Dorsey Palo Alto Wins $3.5 Million Arbitration Award on Behalf of Waste Connections, Inc.PALO ALTO, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Dorsey & Whitney LLP's Palo Alto (News - Alert) office successfully obtained a $3.5 million arbitration award for Waste Connections, Inc.'s subsidiary, Potrero Hills Landfill, Inc., including over $1 million in attorney's fees and costs. The arbitrator, the Hon. Fern Smith (ret'd) of JAMS issued the Final Award in August and the San Francisco Superior Court confirmed it in October 2012. The case stems from an arbitration demand for breach of contract Waste Connections filed against The Ratto Group of Companies, Inc. in July 2010. The two companies entered a long-term Solid Waste Disposal Agreement in May 2009 pursuant to which The Ratto Group agreed to include Waste Connections' Potrero Hills Landfill as the exclusive disposal site in any bid it submitted to Sonoma County. The Ratto Group violated the exclusive disposal obligations when it submitted a bid to transport the County's waste to a competing landfill operator. Waste Connections' victory reaffirms the validity of long-term contracts in the waste management industry according to Jack Hursh, Waste Connections' attorney and Partner at Dorsey Palo Alto. "Long-term and exclusive contracts are the norm in the waste management industry," Hursh said. "Waste Connections relies on these contracts to run its inegrated waste management business efficiently and effectively. This case sends a strong message that these long-term exclusive contracts mean what they say and they will be enforced." added Hursh. Jack Hursh and Martha Luemers, also of Dorsey Palo Alto, arbitrated Waste Connections' case. Other Dorsey Palo Alto team members who played a critical role in Waste Connections' victory include Teresa Castro, Craig Ritchey, Karen Wentzel, Josh Garber, Susan Kalb, Margaret Stork and Seamus Scanlon. About Dorsey Palo Alto Dorsey's Palo Alto office serves a wide variety of clients, from start-ups to established regional, national and international businesses. Dorsey's Palo Alto attorneys provide exceptional service to their clients at all stages of their life cycle and work hard at collaborating and exceeding expectations in order to become their clients' trusted advisors. The Palo Alto office includes specialists in multiple practice areas, including business and commercial litigation, labor & employment, corporate law, life sciences and healthcare, venture capital, mergers & acquisitions, patent and tax. Dorsey Palo Alto also serves as a gateway to Dorsey's specialists in more than 60 practice areas throughout its worldwide platform. Additional information is available at: www.dorsey.com/paloalto About Dorsey & Whitney LLP Founded over a century ago, Dorsey & Whitney LLP is among the 100 largest firms in the United States, with more than 550 attorneys across 19 offices in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Dorsey represents startups, institutional investors, privately-held companies and publicly-traded corporations, including one-third of the Fortune 100 companies, in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, processing and distribution, automotive, retail, consumer products, technology, life science and healthcare, energy, clean technology and financial services, among other sectors. Additional information is available at: www.dorsey.com |
