The Open Road Automotive Law Blog

News and analysis of legal issues affecting the Automotive Industry

The Open Road features legal thought leaders from all areas of the transportation economy including corporate transactions, products liability and class actions, insurance regulation, environmental compliance, and supply chain management. As the automotive sector faces new challenges from international actors, technological innovations, and emerging business models, The Open Road will help insiders navigate the legal and regulatory issues facing the new automotive industry landscape.

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By: Dykema

Blog Authors

Thomas B. Alleman
Laura C. Baucus
Michael R. Carey
Ashley R. Fickel
Sean C. Griffin
Jesse S. Halfon
Courtney F. Kissel
Dante A. Stella
Sheryl L. Toby

Latest from The Open Road Automotive Law Blog

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Partnering with MICHauto and The Right Place, Dykema developed a five-minute flash survey to evaluate the current state of the automotive industry. Please click here to participate in the survey. The results will be analyzed to provide insight regarding the impact COVID-19 has had on businesses in the automotive industry. Dykema will also share feedback received regarding how operations could change moving forward. Your response to this short survey is anonymous. Click here to share…
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What Do You Do When Your Contract Does Not Contain A Force Majeure Clause? As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly throughout the United States—and the world—commercial relationships are being thrown into disarray, resulting in the disruption of supply chains, cancellations of events, and closures of restaurants and other businesses. Several states have declared a state of emergency (including banning large group gatherings and mandating that certain business shutter for the time being).…
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Michigan Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-77 today, permitting manufacturing workers to resume work as part of the MI Safe Start Plan. Manufacturing workers, including workers in the automotive industry, are allowed to resume work on May 11, 2020, one week ahead of the planned restart date of certain Michigan automakers. See Executive Order No. 2020-77, Section 10(k). However, this resumption of work is subject to stringent precautionary measures and safeguards identified in the…
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Data security is not just hackers in cyberspace. It also exists in the physical world, and some of it relates to pedestrian but necessary security protocols for nuts-and-bolts objects. A recent report of a data leak shows how focusing exclusively on active systems can lead to unexpected and potentially problematic results. In the story linked above, a manufacturer of connected vehicles replaced a number of its data storage appliances. A white-hat hacker reported that he had…
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While the coronavirus has sent shockwaves through every service sector, the impact on the transportation industry has been especially severe. Automotive plants have shut down, new car sales have plummeted, and Uber and Lyft have reduced their workforce as social distancing has drastically reduced the demand for ride-hailing. In a world where stay-at-home orders are the norm, all forms of mobility have seen an abrupt decline and the entire transportation economy has suffered. Providers of…
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Proactive Analysis and Protocols Can Reduce Costs and Better Ensure Continuity of Supply The extent of disruption caused by COVID-19 is unknowable at this time. However, it is likely that there will be suppliers unable to economically weather the storm. Having represented manufacturing customers and suppliers for decades, one thing is certain: even the most sophisticated entities make costly mistakes in addressing distressed suppliers without realizing they paid more as a customer than was necessary.…
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Insurance Claims, Force Majeure Notices and Protecting Other Legal Rights In The Wake Of Global Supply Chain Disruption Caused By COVID-19 Dykema is closely monitoring the potential threat of legal fallouts in the wake of supply chain disruption caused by the novel Coronavirus (also known as COVID-19). In the last month, companies reliant on the global supply chain have been faced with part shortages and overall supply chain disruption. Production facility shutdowns as well as…
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The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), Cal. Civ. Code 1798.100-199, presents some interesting questions for mobility businesses and service providers that handle data developed or transmitted by vehicles. Although the CCPA was passed with an effective date of January 1, 2020, the regulations implementing it are still in flux—and are on their second iteration. But whether final regulations are in place or not, enforcement by the California Attorney General’s office could start as early as…
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Earlier this month, Nuro made automotive history when it became the first company to obtain a NHTSA exemption for a driverless vehicle, the R2. Nuro is a self-driving startup created by two former Google engineers. Their earlier version, the R1, is a small electric ‘van’ without a steering wheel or pedals and  designed exclusively for delivery of goods rather than people. Nuro has been testing the R1 vehicle on public roads in places like Scottsdale,…
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On November 25, 2019 the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report on the March 2018 fatality accident in Tempe, Arizona, involving an autonomous vehicle and a pedestrian. NTSB’s position on the accident is that it came about because of a combination of an “inadequate safety culture” at the developer and “automation complacency,” which it describes as the failure of the human safety driver to “monitor an automation system for its failures.” It doesn’t…