Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 11, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 5 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Siracusa Moving & Storage | New Britain, CT PDS Engineering & Construction served as Design Builder for the construction of a new moving and storage facility. Construction included sitework, concrete, millwork, rough carpentry, insulation, roofing, steel erection, HVAC and MEP work. Project Features: • 40' eve height for storage purposes • Front offices • Several overhead bays Total Project Size: 60,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS EnginEEring & COnsTRuCTiOn, inC. Design BuilDeRs • geneRal COnTRaCTORs • COnsTRuCTiOn ManageRs SPOTLIGHT ON: Commercial W 280 Trumbull Street - Hartford, Connecticut 06103 - www.whcpa.com for Financial Institutions Real Solutions Real Advisors It's An Art Please contact Mario Solari 860.524.4494 • msolari@whcpa.com for a consultation today. hittlesey & Hadley accountants are different. We care about our clients, not just their numbers. Our insight and practi- cal advice is original and has been etched into the region as leading providers of services to Financial Institutions for more than 50 years. Who wants ordinary outcomes? Financial Institutions gain our independent perspective on assurance, tax and advisory services that render real solutions to your business needs. Put your trust in advisors pas- sionate about your success. Let our knowledge create your next masterpiece. REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK Travelers, British rival holster their parasols The Travelers Cos. will continue to show- case its iconic bright, red umbrella logo in advertising and corporate materials. But so, apparently, will its British rival get to keep displaying its rainbow-colored bumbershoot. According to Connecticut federal court records, a judge on March 16 ordered dis- missal of a civil lawsuit that Travelers Indem- nity Co. filed in November 2013 against Legal & General Group Plc, one of England's lead- ing property-casualty insurers and pension and investment managers-advisors with major U.S. operations based in Baltimore. Travelers claimed L&G's multi-hued umbrella logo too closely resembled the fire- engine red parasol that has been the New York insurer's brand designator dating almost back to Travelers' founding in 1864 in Hartford to insure business travelers. According to federal court records, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer granted a stipulated dismissal for all claims and coun- terclaims with prejudice, meaning the matter cannot be brought back before the court. Through spokesmen, both Travelers and L&G would only confirm the settlement, but declined to disclose any terms. L&G units Banner Life, William Penn Life Insurance of New York and Legal & General Investment Management America Inc. were among a half dozen other co- defendants because their parent's umbrella logo appears on their homepages, in online advertising and elsewhere. "We reached a mutually acceptable and amicable settlement," Legal & General spokesman Richard King said. Attorneys for parties in the case did not respond to requests for comment. The settlement does not appear to affect Legal & General's use of its rainbow-col- ored parasol, which is still visible on Legal & General's corporate homepage, as well as that of its Banner Life Insurance affiliate. According to court papers, Legal & Gen- eral, in its formal answer to the suit, con- ceded that both insurers "have engaged in" negotiations "over a period of several years" regarding their umbrella logos. Travelers' red umbrella also was vis- ible last week on a number of its sponsored homepages and online advertising. L&G also pointed to a Feb. 16, 1999 letter agreement between the pair that "bars Trav- elers from asserting any trademark claims against" L&G and its insurance affiliates. L&G further claimed, papers show, that "constitutes consent by Travelers to defen- dants' use.'' — Gregory Seay B of A donation, new ATMs blunt its North End, Hartford branch pullout Bank of America has closed two long- time branches in Hartford's predominately minority North End, with one now home to a local credit union serving city of Hartford employees and affiliated members. On April 24, B of A shut its full-service branch and automated teller machine at 701 Blue Hills Ave., spokesman T.J. Crawford said. Last October, the bank closed its ATM- equipped satellite at 2775 Main St., in the Terry Square neighborhood. Both were shut, Crawford said, because they had the dubious distinction of being among the least trafficked of B of A's nation- wide network of more than 5,000 branches. Today's consumers do more of their bank- ing via smartphones or laptop or desktop computers, he said. With the closings, B of A has no further plans to open or close Hartford branches or ATM sites, the spokesman said. The bank still has seven branches and or ATMs scat- tered throughout the city of Hartford, more than any of its peer banks, he said. B of A, which like many state- and fed- erally chartered lenders must meet certain minimum regulatory standards for service to customers and their communities, took steps to ensure its pullout wasn't disruptive to the neighborhoods, Crawford said. For instance, the bank donated its Main Street branch to Hartford Municipal Employ- ees Federal Credit Union, he said. The credit union plans to renovate the building and open a branch there later this year, officials said. B of A also delayed by six months clos- ing the Blue Hills Avenue location, origi- nally set for last October, to give the neigh- borhood and customers time to prepare, Crawford said. To mute the impact of closing the ATM and to be nearer a larger core of its custom- ers, B of A recently established an ATM-only kiosk about a mile north, at 1050 Blue Hills Ave., in Bloomfield, the spokesman said. Finally, B of A said it installed a second ATM at its full-service branch at 919 Albany Ave., in the North End. Crawford stressed that, despite the branch and ATM shutdowns, all of the bank's unspecified number of employees in those locations were resettled into similar or other jobs within B of A. — Gregory Seay I L L U S T R A T I O N | H B J F I L E

• Cover