FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Contact:
Charles Jones
cjones@cjonespr.com
305-987-7418
 
MEDIA ADVISORY
 
DETHRONED MISS FLORIDA USA TO TELL HER SIDE OF THE STORY AS ATTORNEY FILES $5 MILLION LAWSUIT IN FIGHT TO REGAIN CROWN
 
MEDIA CONFERENCE SCHEDULED AUGUST 1 IN MIAMI AT 3:00 PM; ATTORNEYS WILL ALSO FILE AN EMERGENCY INJUNCTION
 
MIAMI – July 31, 2016 – Génesis Dávila, Miss Florida USA 2017 who was recently stripped of her crown, and her attorney Richard Wolfe will hold a press conference on August 1 at 3:00 p.m. to announce the filing of a $5 million lawsuit against the owners of the Miss Florida USA pageant: Tel-Air Interests, Inc., Grant Gravitt, Jr., and IMG Universe, LP. Dávila will also speak publicly for the first time about the false allegations claiming she broke pageant rules.
 
Media Conference Details:
When:                  August 1, 2016
Time:                    3:00 pm
Where:                 The Law Office of Richard Wolfe
                                  175 SW 7 Street
                                  Latitude One Offices, Suite 2410
                                   Miami, Florida 33130
Media Contact: Charles Jones, cjones@cjonespr.com, 305-987-7418
 
Wolfe added that the lawsuit will seek damages for defamation and he will also file an emergency injunction. In the meantime, Dávila has been getting support from fans all over the world. The following video was posted on Instagram by supporter in Philippines who started the Twitter hashtag #justice4genesis: https://www.instagram.com/p/BId573FgQ5P/
 
Genesis Davila Background:
Dávila was born in Arroyo, Puerto Rico on in 1992 and is of Afro-Puerto Rican heritage. During her pageant career, she has competed in and won several prestigious international contests. In 2012, Dávila represented Arroyo at the Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2013 pageant, where she finished as 1st Runner-Up and won the Best Legs Awards. As first runner up, Dávila got the right to represent Puerto Rico at Miss Intercontinental 2012 in Germany where she finished as 1st Runner-Up and won the title of Miss North America Intercontinental.
 
In 2014 Dávila represented Arroyo at Miss World Puerto Rico 2014. She won the competition and won the Beach Beauty Award. Dávila represented Puerto Rico at the Miss World 2014 in London. She was the first woman of predominately African heritage to represent Puerto Rico at Miss World.
 
Dávila represented Miami Beach in the Miss Florida USA 2017 pageant held on July 16. She was crowned during the televised event. Dávila was dethroned on July 22 after Wolfe said pageant officials questioned her citizenship status then falsely accused her of hiring outside hair and makeup professionals during the Miss Florida USA state pageant instead of the ones provided by the organization, which is a violation of pageant rules.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - January 2016 - FCC Environmental has been awarded a 10-year contract for residential solid waste collection in Orange County, Fla. The contract is worth $100 million, approximately 85 million Euros.

The two zones awarded to FCC have a total population of 400,000 and annually produces 100,000 tons of garbage a year.

 FCC also introduced new automatic side-loading trucks powered by natural gas engine, which produces less noise and pollution.

Resolving Disputes with Insurance Carriers, and Obtaining Commitments of $3.5 Million in Payments to Company

CEO Says Series of Coordinated Settlements Should Allow the New Management Team to Focus Exclusively on the Company’s Long-Term Commercial, Research and Financial Objectives

PHILADELPHIA -- June 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma (NYSE MKT:HEB) is pleased to announce that it has entered into multiple agreements and stipulations to settle all material litigation.  “All four derivative cases, described in detail in prior public filings, have now been settled, subject to final Court approval. Two pending disputes in mediation with Company insurers have also been settled with a commitment to pay $3,500,000 to the Company,” declared Thomas K. Equels, CEO of Hemispherx.

Governance changes, such as the creation of the independent Scientific Advisory Committee to review all submissions made by Hemispherx to the United States Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory bodies; the retention of an independent executive compensation consultant to advise the Company on its compensation practices for executive officers and directors; and the nomination of at least one new independent director for election as a member of the Company’s Board at the 2016 annual meeting, have been agreed to as a part of the settlement stipulations.
“The end result of this highly complex and coordinated comprehensive settlement of all disputes is that valuable governance changes consistent with the new management team's expressed philosophy will be immediately implemented,” Equels added. He said, “Even though there can be no assurance that the courts will approve the settlements, preliminary court approval of three of the four lawsuits has already been obtained and the Company expects final court approval of all matters.  The insurer settlements, the subject of two policy dispute mediations, are the source of the $3.5 million from which it is expected attorney fee and cost awards in the settled lawsuits will be paid, do not require court approval. Optimally, this will conserve Company funds that otherwise would have been expended in litigation, and it is anticipated that substantial funds will be left over for the advancement of our commercial goals,” Equels said. “The settlement of these disputes, in a comprehensive fashion, allows our upper management and our medical/scientific team to devote our undivided attention to the Company's priority commercial and research related goals.” 
Equels added that concluding the litigation creates a clean slate for the Company’s future partnering efforts, especially in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Cancer, because Hemispherx will be freed from the unknown liabilities, costs and unforeseen consequences of these litigations.
“We are grateful for the fine work done by our legal team from both Pepper Hamilton LLC and Black & Gerngross LLC,” said Equels. “Working together, we have crafted settlements which we believe will well serve Hemispherx's short and long term interests."
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is an advanced specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the manufacture and clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx’s flagship products include Alferon N Injection® and the experimental therapeutics Ampligen® and Alferon® LDO.  Ampligen® is an experimental RNA nucleic acid being developed for globally important debilitating diseases and disorders of the immune system, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  Hemispherx’s platform technology includes components for potential treatment of various severely debilitating and life threatening diseases. Because both Ampligen® and Alferon® LDO are experimental in nature, they are not designated safe and effective by a regulatory authority for general use and are legally available only through clinical trials.  Hemispherx has patents comprising its core intellectual property estate and a fully commercialized product (Alferon N Injection®), approved for sale in the U.S. and Argentina. Alferon N Injection® is approved for the treatment of refractory or recurrent external genital warts in patients 18 years of age or older.  The Company’s Alferon® N approval in Argentina includes the use of Alferon N Injection® (under the brand name “Naturaferon”) for use in any patients who fail, or become intolerant to recombinant interferon, including patients with chronic active hepatitis C infection. The Company wholly owns and exclusively operates a GMP certified manufacturing facility in the United States for commercial products.  For more information, please visit www.hemispherx.net.
Disclosure Notice
Information contained in this news release, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors; the Company’s ability to adequately fund its projects; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and healthcare legislation in the United States and internationally; trends toward healthcare cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the Company’s ability to accurately predict the future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; dependence on the effectiveness of the Company’s patents and other protections for products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions; and numerous other factors discussed in this release and in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The production of new Alferon® API inventory will not commence until the validation phase is complete. While the facility is approved by FDA under the Biological License Application ("BLA”) for Alferon®, this status will need to be reaffirmed by a successful Pre-Approval Inspection by the FDA prior to commercial sale of newly produced inventory product.  The validation phase is delayed until we are able to repair the damage caused by a flood that occurred on January 5, 2016 at the facility.  At this moment, there is no definitive timetable to have the facility back online.  If and when we obtain a reaffirmation of FDA BLA status and have begun production of new Alferon® API, we will need FDA approval as to the quality and stability of the final product to allow commercial sales to resume.  With regard to our NDA for Ampligen® to treat CFS, we note that there are additional steps which the FDA has advised us to take in our seeking approval.  The final results of these efforts and/or any other activities could vary materially from Hemispherx’s expectations.  Any failure to satisfy the FDA regulatory requirements or the requirements of other countries could significantly delay, or preclude outright, approval of Ampligen® in the United States and other countries.  No assurance can be given that the respective courts will approve the settlements in the four actions.  No evidence is suggested that Ampligen® will be commercially approved for any treatment or that Alferon N Injection® will be commercially approved for potential new treatment indications or for new manufacturing procedures.
Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, all such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words such as “potential,” “potentially,” “possible,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Hemispherx that any of its plans will be achieved.  These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees of future performance, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Hemispherx’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements.  Examples of such risks and uncertainties include those set forth in the Disclosure Notice, above, as well as the risks described in Hemispherx’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K.  You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and Hemispherx undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise revise or update this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Company/Investor Contact:                                                                                     
Charles Jones
CJones & Associates Public Relations                                                                     
Office: 888-557-6480
Cell: 305-987-7418
Email: cjones@cjonespr.com

MIAMI - June 29, 2016 - Stella Chu, an associate in the Miami office of Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell, has been elected to the Dade County Bar Association Board of Directors. The Board is the policy making body of the organization and consists of 35 voting members.

Chu is an experienced litigator concentrating on the representation of clients involving mass torts and premise liability matters. She provides assistance with the management of thousands of asbestos cases in Miami-Dade County. Chu's experience includes providing service to clients manufacturing a spectrum of products including gaskets and packing, boilers, aircraft engines, and diesel engines.

Prior to joining the firm, Chu represented several international vertical transportation companies on a variety of product liability and commercial matters. She also has extensive labor and employment experience having represented individuals and private and public sector employee labor unions.

Prior to joining Rumberger, Chu interned for Judge William M. Hoeveler in Miami. She earned a juris doctor for the University of Miami School of Law and a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of California.

The Dade County Bar Association was incorporated in 1920 to serve the lawyers of this county, to promote the administration of justice, to enhance attorney professionalism, and to cultivate positive relationships among all members of the Bar.

Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell provides litigation and counseling services in a wide range of civil practice areas including product liability, commercial litigation, construction,  real estate, intellectual property litigation, securities litigation , labor and employment law,  bankruptcy, insurance coverage, professional liability and administrative law. Offices are located in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee and Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, please visit www.rumberger.com.

Growing Company Wins Highly Coveted Retail Space in the Prestigious Waterfront District of National Harbor

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – June 5, 2016 – One of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in entertainment today, Vanessa Williams along with Leon Robinson, best known for the classic movie “The Five Heartbeats,” will be among the celebrities, dignitaries, and invited guests to the launch party for the new locations of Upper Cuts on July 7 at National Harbor, Maryland. Upper Cuts is one of the fastest growing upscale grooming centers and spas in the Washington, DC metro area.
 
Upper Cuts was one of 150 companies vying for a storefront in the prestigious waterfront district of National Harbor. After an arduous selection process, the company successfully secured retail space for two new businesses -- Upper Cuts Gentleman's Grooming Place and Upper Cuts Salon & Spa.
 
Upper Cuts Gentleman's Grooming Place was created as an upscale luxurious grooming center specializing in men's hair care and personal grooming services.  VIP men’s services are available in private styling rooms. There is one additional location in downtown Washington, DC.  As an elegant beauty boutique offering sophisticated services to today’s discerning woman, Upper Cuts Salon & Spa is a haven where women can sit back, relax, and experience exquisite services in luxury, comfort, and style. For the ultra-discerning woman, VIP services are also available in private styling rooms.
 
Upper Cuts’ management team is comprised of two business executives with a collective experience of 30 years as corporate executives. With a solid business management background, the duo maintains a keen business acumen to successfully lead profitable and well respected enterprises. They have a proven track record of success in launching new businesses and directing operations for small businesses with 200+ employees. They have been honored with various national and local awards including: SmartCEO’s Smart100 and Fast 50 Winners by Washington Technology Magazine.
 
More Details:
What: Launch Party for Upper Cuts Gentleman’s Grooming Place and Upper Cuts Salon & Spa
 
Location:
Upper Cuts of Maryland
230 A & B American Way
National Harbor, MD 20745
 
When: July 7, 2016 at 7:00 pm