Warner Partner Michael Brady, who co-chairs the firm’s Automotive Industry Group and chairs the Class Action Practice Group, was recently interviewed by Crain’s Detroit Business for the article, “Ambassador Bridge closure cost auto industry millions of dollars. Who pays?”
The article highlights the six-day blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit and the looming threat of more protests and closures – and how the shutdown cost the automotive industry millions of dollars, approximately $300 million, causing further disruption in the supply chain.
Although the bridge reopened Sunday after the shutdown, the impact will likely linger for months, as does the threat of future closures.
Such closures impact suppliers’ ability to move parts across the bridge and timely deliver parts, potentially causing further contractual and cost recovery disputes between OEMs and suppliers. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a multitude of supply chain issues over the past few years – so the automotive industry has had its fair share of supply chain disruption.
Brady said that one benefit of dealing with so many recent supply chain disruptions is that companies are developing a better, more pro-active approach to handling the unexpected.
“It’s a different cause, but the same type of interruption in the supply chain,” Brady told Crain’s Detroit. “Whether it’s the bridge getting shut down or the ports being jammed, it all results in parts not getting to customers in time. I think if this would have happened pre-COVID, you would have seen a much worse reaction from everybody in the supply chain. Everybody knows how to deal with these things better.”
Crain’s Detroit Business subscribers can read the article here.
Michael Brady is the executive partner of Warner’s Detroit and Bloomfield Hills offices and an award-winning litigation attorney who represents automotive suppliers in contract negotiations and supply chain disputes. Michael has co-chaired Warner’s Automotive Industry Group for over a decade. He successfully represents clients throughout every stage of the litigation process in U.S. federal and state courts and in international matters. Read Michael’s full bio here.
