Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), New Jersey’s oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, recently became the first utility in the United States to secure liability protections under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act (SAFETY Act) of 2002 for its internal physical security program. The July 9, 2018 decision granting PSE&G SAFETY Act protections is significant because it signals that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers the Act, is taking concrete steps to recognize and bolster the energy industry’s critical contributions to national security. It also sends a message that the SAFETY Act is available to help other utilities limit their liability exposure to lawsuits that claim they should have done more to prevent or respond to a terrorist attack on their generation, transmission or distribution systems.
Continue Reading PSE&G Becomes First Public Utility to Secure SAFETY Act Liability Protections from DHS
Raymond Biagini
A distinguished counselor and litigator, Raymond Biagini has risen to national prominence in a number of high-profile tort cases, defending commercial and government contractors in:
- "Contractor on the Battlefield" tort litigation;
- the Exxon Valdez litigation;
- the Cell Phone Radiation Hazards lawsuits;
- the "Fen-Phen" litigation;
- the nationwide Repetitive Stress Injury suits;
- claims arising out of "friendly fire" accidents during Operation Desert Storm; and
- "war crimes" allegations filed against manufacturers of military weapons systems sold to Israel.
Ray is widely recognized for his expertise in defending “contractors on the battlefield” in tort litigation, and he has established ground-breaking legal principles at the federal appellate level which immunize defense contractors from tort liability arising out of combatant scenarios.
Ray also has an extensive product liability prevention practice, counseling companies on mechanisms for reducing their tort exposure for products and services sold to government and commercial entities. He is significantly involved in counseling companies selling "homeland security" products and services, such as chemical/biological detection devices, perimeter security systems, biometric identity products, and airport security systems. Ray conceptualized and authored key provisions of the SAFETY Act, a new federal statute that is part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The SAFETY Act protects companies from tort lawsuits arising out of the sale of homeland security products and services.
Ray has represented some of the world's largest aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical companies, including Kellogg Brown & Root, Lockheed Martin, BAE SYSTEMS, Boeing, Textron, SAIC, Teledyne, Eon Labs, Unisys, and Philips Electronics. He is a frequent public speaker on risk mitigation techniques.