3M Wants Met Council to Share River Pollution Blame

January 9, 2012 – The Pioneer Press reports today on firm client 3M Company and its efforts to hold Met Council responsible for alleged contamination due to certain chemicals produced by the company. The article explains 3M filed a counterclaim against Met Council – alleging that the planning agency “dumps chemicals into the river form its even waste treatment plants.”

The article quotes firm partner William Brewer, who notes the chemicals must be coming from sources other than 3M. He observes 3M stopped making PFOS in 2002. So, 10 years later, why is the chemical still being found in the Mississippi River, the reporting asks. Brewer told the Press it must be that it is coming from other sources than 3M. The article notes that Minnesota AG Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit against 3M.

To read the article “3M Turns Tables on Met Council in Mississippi River Pollution Trial,” click here.

Pioneer Press Editorial: Good News on 3M Clean-up

December 8, 2011 – The Pioneer Press editorial board wrote an opinion piece today praising 3M Company for its environmental practices. The publication reports 3M’s environmental clean-up is working:  “That’s good news that deserves notice, as does 3M’s seven-year commitment to clean up a chemical pollutant found in some tested Washington County residents.”

Firm client 3M is defending an environmental pollution lawsuit from the Minnesota Attorney General.

Read the editorial here.

3M Comments on Report that Finds PFC Blood Levels Decline

December 6, 2011 – Firm client 3M Company commented on today’s announcement of a biomonitoring study released by the Minnesota Department of Health that confirms the company’s belief that the levels of perfluorochemicals found in the bloodstream of East Metro residents are significantly declining.

“The efforts by 3M have had a positive impact on reducing PFC exposure,” 3M Spokesman Bill Nelson stated in the article “3M Chemicals Down Sharply in East Metro Residents.”

Following 3M’s decision to phase-out the use of PFCs in 2000, the company entered into a Consent Order and Settlement Agreement with the MPCA in May 2007. 3M voluntarily agreed to remove PFCs from the environment.

Pioneer Press Reports on 3M River Cleanup

November 3, 2011 – The Pioneer Press reports today on a study from 3M Company that indicates certain local waterways are no longer impaired by PFOS. The article reports on 3M’s decision to stop using the compound, and its collaboration with environmentalists, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and others to remediate the compounds from the local area. The firm represents 3M in defense of various legal actions pertaining to the company’s past manufacturing, use and disposal of the compounds.

According to the article, “Whitney Clark, executive director of Friends of the Mississippi River, said 3M should be commended for the mitigation work it has done over the years.”

To read the article “Chemical Levels in River Fish Drop, 3M Says,” click here.

The Wall Street Journal: Marriott Loses Trendy Waikiki Hotel

August 29, 2011 — The Wall Street Journal reports that, in a "dramatic move," the owners of the Waikiki Edition in Hawaii installed new management and changed the signs and locks on their property overnight to reflect a new name, the Modern Honolulu. The report states that the "changes were made in spite of a contract that allows Marriott [International Inc.] to run the hotel as an Edition for 30 years." 

William A. Brewer III, counsel for M Waikiki LLC, the hotel owner, told the Journal that his clients have the legal right to terminate the contract, alleging that Marriott is mismanaging the property. 

The Journal reports that, in a legal filing in May in New York Supreme Court, M Waikiki claimed Marriott "had failed to make the flashy new Edition hotel brand a success, resulting in the Waikiki location underperforming relative to its market." The owners said further that occupancy for the fourth quarter of 2010 had been 30% — well below the 62% rate predicted by Marriott. 

To read the full report, click here. 

Reuters: Marriott, Schrager Sued by Hawaii Hotel Owner

May 30, 2011 — Reuters reports that owners of the Waikiki Edition have filed suit against Marriott International Inc. and hotelier Ian Schrager, Marriott's partner in creating the Edition brand. The lawsuit, filed by Bickel & Brewer on behalf of M Waikiki LLC, "seeks to end a 30-year management agreement and recover losses and overruns tied to the 353-room beachside hotel." 

"We believe empty promises were made in connection with the launch of Edition — and the damage done to our clients has been further compounded by Marriott's inability to effectively manage this property," said William A. Brewer III, partner at Bickel & Brewer and lead counsel for M. Waikiki LLC. "Based on the breaches of its contractual obligations to our client, we are seeking to remove Marriott from the management of the Hotel." 

To read the full report, click here. 

The Wall Street Journal: Hawaii Hotel Sues Marriott

May 26, 2011 — The Wall Street Journal reports that the owners of the "stylish but unsuccessful" Waikiki Edition in Honolulu have filed a lawsuit seeking to end their management agreement with Marriott International Inc. In the lawsuit, filed by Bickel & Brewer on behalf of client M Waikiki LLC, the owners claim Marriott has "failed to make a flashy new hotel brand a success." 

The lawsuit also named Ian Schrager, Marriott's partner on the Edition brand, as a defendant in the suit, "alleging that the famed hotelier has been uninvolved in the project."

The report states, "The owners now allege Marriott was responsible for construction overruns, as well as cost overruns after the hotel began operating. The owners say the hotel has lost $6 million since it opened in October 2010, with occupancy just around 30% in the fourth quarter of 2010, far below the 62% occupancy Marriott predicted in August 2009."

To read the full report, click here.

Dallas Business Journal: Wylys Did No Wrong, Lawyer Says

November 12, 2010 – The Dallas Business Journal reports today that “Sam and Charles Wyly should not be held liable for insider trading or other misdeeds the Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged they’ve committed because they’ve done nothing wrong. At least that’s the message the Bill Brewer…wants to convey about his Dallas billionaire clients.”

“The SEC case lacks merit,” Brewer told the DBJ. “The (Wylys) that the community has known for the last 40 years are good, honorable and law-abiding folks…about whom the SEC has told a tall tale. It’s a tall tale that’s inconsistent with the people we’ve known for all these decades,” Brewer said.

Read the full report here.