BATTAGLIA, J. American Bank Holdings, Inc., Petitioner, is engaged in the business of originating, making, and selling residential mortgage loans. Brian Kavanagh and Jeffrey Weber (collectively "Respondents") were employed by American as co-branch managers operating an office located at 9500 Harford Road, Baltimore, as well as originating residential mortgage loans. Respondents executed similar "Co-Branch Manager Employment Agreement[s]" with American, which, in relevant part, provided that...
WATTS, J. This case arises from a dispute as to whether Montgomery County, Maryland ("the County"), Petitioner, a self-insured entity, may recover damages from Montgomery County Police Officer John Distel, ("Respondent"), for the costs of repairing a County-owned police patrol vehicle, which was damaged in a single-car collision while Respondent operated the vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Specifically, we must determine whether Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme...
MATRICCIANI, J. Appellant filed a lawsuit against appellee James Farmer based on letters that Farmer sent to various lawyers regarding appellant's "unprofessional" conduct. In the complaint, appellant alleged defamation, libel, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He later filed amended complaints to add counts for tortious interference with contract and tortious interference with prospective advantage. Appellant also added appellee Charles Bowie as a party defendant....
ZARNOCH, J. In this medical malpractice case. Celeste Puppolo ("Puppolo"), in her capacity as personal representative of the estate of Nancy Puppolo ("Mrs. Puppolo"), sued Adventist Healthcare, Inc. ("Adventist") and Dr. Sabyasachi Kar alleging negligence in the death of Mrs. Puppolo. Puppolo now seeks review of an order of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, which granted Adventist's and Dr. Kar's motions for summary judgment and granted Adventist's motion to dismiss pursuant to the...
KEHOE, J. This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Frederick County foreclosing the equity of redemption in a tax sale proceeding. The appellants are PNC Bank, N.A. ("PNC") and Sidney S. Friedman, Jeffrey M. Lippman, and William H. Thrush, Jr. (the "Substitute Trustees"). PNC was the beneficiary of a deed of trust encumbering the property in question and the Substitute Trustees, acting on behalf of PNC, were plaintiffs in an action to foreclose the deed of trust. The...
SHARER, J. In this appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Worcester County we are asked to review the propriety of an arbitration award of punitive damages. Seeking review of the circuit court's affirmance of the arbitration award, including punitive damages, appellant, Kathy J. Gordon, poses a single question, which, as slightly rephrased, asks: Did the circuit court properly confirm an arbitration award of punitive damages that included an express finding of willful and wanton...
ZARNOCH, J. This case presents two key issues for resolution: (1) Can a driver be found negligent if an accident occurs when his truck crashes into a parked vehicle but the apparently healthy driver has no memory of the accident and (2) Is a plaintiff's status as an undocumented immigrant 1 relevant and admissible evidence in this personal injury action Appellants Rigoberto E. Domingos Ayala and Jose R. Rodas Santacruz were working for Ebb Tide Tents and Party Rentals ("Ebb Tide") when...
KEHOE, J. The primary dispute in this case is whether a 2012 amendment to the State's gaming law violates the Maryland constitutional prohibition against "special laws." 1 We hold that it does not. The appellants/cross-appellees are CCI Entertainment, L.L.C., trading as the Crooked I Sports Bar & Grill, which operated a gaming establishment in Calvert County, and its principals (collectively "CCI"). 2 The appellees/cross-appellants are the State, Governor Martin O'Malley, the General...
PER CURIAM ORDER. The petition for writ of certiorari in the above-entitled case having been granted and argued, it is this 10th day of December, 2013, ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the writ of certiorari be, and it is hereby, dismissed with costs, the petition having been improvidently granted.
BELL, C.J., (Retired). The right to formal political representation is fundamental to our state and national democracies. In the second year following each Federal decennial census, the Maryland Constitution provides that the Governor and State Legislature shall reapportion the State's legislative representation consistent with the State's current demographics. To protect the Federal and State legal rights that may be affected by this process, the Maryland Constitution also provides that the...
PER CURIAM ORDER. The petition for writ of certiorari in the above-entitled case having been granted and argued, it is this 9th day of December, 2013, ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the writ of certiorari be, and it is hereby, dismissed with costs, the petition having been improvidently granted.
ADKINS, J. In this case we examine the application of a local court policy that sets limits on litigants' access to court-ordered investigatory reports in child custody cases. Here, Millicent Sumpter ("Mother") challenges the Circuit Court for Baltimore City's application of its "Policy Regarding Distribution of Court Ordered Evaluative Reports" ("the Policy") and its subsequent award of sole legal and physical custody of her children to Sean Sumpter ("Father"). The Court of Special Appeals,...
WATTS, J. This attorney discipline proceeding concerns a Maryland attorney who "robo-signed" a large number of documents in foreclosure filings. 1 George Jacob Geesing ("Geesing"), Respondent, a member of the Bar of Maryland, routinely authorized two non-lawyer members of the staff of what is now BWW Law Group, LLC ("BWW Law") to sign his name on documents-including affidavits-in foreclosure filings. Geesing instructed the staff members (who were also notaries public) to notarize the...
BELL, C.J. (Retired). In this case, the issue for decision is whether all of the signatures of registered voters collected by an affiant, who, in completing his affidavit to an election referendum petition, provided partially incorrect zip code information, are, for that reason, invalidated. We hold that they are not. Similar to the general collective bargaining law for County employees, Montgomery, Md., Code 33-101 to 33-112, the collective bargaining law for police department employees,...
BATTAGLIA, J. This case requires us to consider the enforceability of a clause, which contained both an exculpatory provision and indemnification language, in an agreement executed by a parent on behalf of his minor son permitting his son's use of a free supervised play area called the "Incredible Kids' Club" (Kids' Club) offered by BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ's), a commercial wholesale retail center at its location in Owings Mills, Maryland. The Kids' Club contained a number of different...
WATTS, J. Foremost among matters, this case concerns a Maryland lawyer who promised to file a complaint on a client's behalf, learned that the court had rejected the complaint for filing, and then repeatedly deceived her client as to the status of the litigation while demanding additional retainer payments. Michelle Hamilton Davy ("Davy"), Respondent, a member of the Bar of Maryland, represented three clients in two unrelated matters. Linda Smalls ("Smalls") retained Davy to institute an...
McDONALD, J. It is sometimes the case that an individual bent on avoiding taxes exchanges the certainty of the tax liability for a risky, and perhaps fraudulent, investment that proves more costly in the long run. The instant litigation arises out of such a situation. We are asked to decide the nature of the investment — was it a "security" for purposes of application of the Maryland Securities Act — and whether the long run was too long — are the claims barred by limitations We also...
GREENE, J. This is a lead paint case involving two properties and multiple defendants, including both current and previous property owners and managers. The parties present issues regarding the interpretation of a Lead Paint Scheduling Order 1 ("scheduling order") filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, the court's role in imposing sanctions for discovery violations, and the proof required to establish a prima facie case for violation of the Baltimore City Housing Code under Maryland's...
NAZARIAN, J. This case has generated a lot of publicity and emotion, and understandably so. Elizabeth Banks was renowned, even revered, for her opposition to development in Montgomery County. Ms. Banks had owned and lived on property known for more than a century as the Belward Farm (the "Farm"), and she undoubtedly had a vision of how The Johns Hopkins University ("Hopkins") could, and would, steward her beloved family land after she and her siblings conveyed the Farm to Hopkins in 1989. Her...
MATRICCIANI, J. Appellant, Effie Dolan, filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Cecil County on November 17, 2008, naming as defendant the appellee, Christopher McQuaide, and bringing claims for replevin, conversion, breach of contract, accounting, breach of fiduciary duty by fraud, unjust enrichment, promissory estoppel, civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The circuit court granted McQuaide's motion for summary judgment on all counts,...
