MEMORANDUM J. FREDERICK MOTZ , District Judge . William Bright, a self-represented litigant formerly incarcerated at the Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland ("WCI"), 1 filed a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 2 as supplemented, claiming: (1) he has been denied heart and blood pressure medications by defendants Barrera, Lewis, Kimberly Martin and Carla Buck; (2) defendant Carls has failed to remove a...
MEMORANDUM OPINION WILLIAM D. QUARLES, JR. , District Judge . Vincent T. Mercer, an African-American, sued PHH Corporation for discriminatory termination under 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2, and retaliatory termination under 42 U.S.C. 2000e-3. Pending is PHH's motion for summary judgment. No hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md. 2011). For the following reasons, the motion will be granted. I. Background 1 PHH Arval ("PHH") is a wholly owned subsidiary of PHH Corporation and "one...
MEMORANDUM J. FREDERICK MOTZ, District Judge. Tutor Doctor Systems, Inc. ("TDS") has brought this action against Harold Kestenbaum, Esq., Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C., ("RMF") and Gordon & Rees, LLP. Jurisdiction is based upon the diverse citizenship of the parties. Kestenbaum and RMF have filed motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Gordon & Rees has filed a motion to dismiss or transfer for improper venue. Because I have concluded that transfer of the action to the Eastern...
MEMORANDUM OPINION GEORGE J. HAZEL, District Judge. Plaintiffs Alexander Villarroel, Gorgonio Miguel Velazquez, Xavier Cabrerra. Marino Gonzales Dias, and Gudiel Rodrigues Aguilar filed this action against their former employers Sri Siva Vishnu Temple. Moffett Contracting, LLC. and John C. Moffett, seeking damages and other relief for Defendants' alleged failure to pay them overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., the Maryland Wage and...
MEMORANDUM JAMES K. BREDAR, District Judge. On December 10, 2014, defendants, who are Maryland residents, filed a Notice of Removal from the Circuit Court of Maryland for Howard County, Case No. 13C14101405, paying the filing fee and providing a civil cover sheet, the complaint, and documents relating to the Circuit Court case (ECF Nos. 1 and 2), as well as an "Affidavit for Notice of Removal" (ECF No.3) and an "Affidavit for Declaration of Bill of Rights." (ECF No.4). There is no evidence...
MEMORANDUM CATHERINE C. BLAKE, District Judge. Bancroft Commercial, Inc. ("Bancroft"), doing business as Bancroft Press, brings this suit against Sandra Goroff and Burton Peretsky (collectively, "the defendants"). Bancroft alleges that the defendants committed fraud by misrepresenting their qualifications as book publicists. Bancroft also alleges that the defendants breached two book publicity contracts. Before the court is the defendants' motion to dismiss, which Bancroft belatedly opposed...
MEMORANDUM J. FREDERICK MOTZ, District Judge. Tutor Doctor Systems, Inc. ("TDS") has brought this action against Harold Kestenbaum, Esq., Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C., ("RMF") and Gordon & Rees, LLP. Jurisdiction is based upon the diverse citizenship of the parties. Kestenbaum and RMF have filed motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Gordon & Rees has filed a motion to dismiss or transfer for improper venue. Because I have concluded that transfer of the action to the Eastern...
MEMORANDUM ELLEN LIPTON HOLLANDER, District Judge. This intra-family dispute pits siblings against each other with respect to valuable real estate located in Talbot County, Maryland. Christy Pickford Bartlett, 1 as General and Limited Partner of Pickwick Farm Limited Partnership, Trustee of the Patricia Pickford Revocable Trust, and Co-Trustee of the Stephen Pickford and April Pickford Trust; Barbara "Bobbe" P. Mundt; 2 and Judith "Gigi" Pickford Barse, plaintiffs, filed suit against...
MEMORANDUM CATHERINE C. BLAKE, District Judge. Richard DeBlois, a Maryland prisoner, seeks relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254. A response to his petition has been filed, to which DeBlois has replied. The matter is now ready for dispositive review. The court finds no need for a hearing. See Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, Rule 8(a); Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2014). For the reasons to follow, the petition will be denied. BACKGROUND Richard DeBlois pleaded...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ELLEN LIPTON HOLLANDER, District Judge. Plaintiff Oscar L. Price was a volunteer firefighter for defendant, the Grasonville Volunteer Fire Department (the "Department") in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. See ECF 1 at 5, 6 ("Complaint"). He has sued the Department, asserting four claims: employment discrimination on the basis of race, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq. ("Title VII") (Count One); a racially hostile work...
MEMORANDUM ORDER RICHARD D. BENNETT, District Judge. The Plaintiff Shalelah Cook ("Ms. Cook" or "Plaintiff") initially filed this action against the Defendant National Center on Institutions and Alternatives Inc. ("Defendant" or "NCIA") and other individually named Defendants, including the Defendant James Hack. She asserted 12 counts of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring/retention and wrongful discharge....
MEMORANDUM CATHERINE C. BLAKE, District Judge. The defendant Arthur Jeter seeks to suppress evidence, specifically a handgun, retrieved from the back seat floor of a car in which he was a front seat passenger on October 23, 2013. (Tr. 9/12/14, M-12.) Through counsel Mr. Jeter raises troubling issues concerning the handling of a confidential informant ("CI"), the apparent failure of the city police to disclose the existence of that CI to the city prosecutor, and the reliability of the lead...
MEMORANDUM J. FREDERICK MOTZ, District Judge. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Bruce Koenig ("Koenig"), an inmate formerly confined at the maximum security facility North Branch Correctional Institution ("NBCI"), filed this civil rights complaint and affidavit on November 27, 2013. He alleges that Nurse Cortez violated his Eighth Amendment right to necessary medical care and his rights under the Americans with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Acts when (1) in October of 2013, she failed to intervene on his...
MEMORANDUM J. FREDERICK MOTZ, District Judge. Pending is defendants' motion for summary judgment, which remains unopposed. 1 ECF No. 11. Plaintiff has filed a motion to amend, solely seeking to modify the names of two defendants. ECF No. 18. The motion shall be granted. 2 Upon review of the pleadings filed, I find a hearing in this matter unnecessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2014). Background Plaintiff, an inmate confined at Western Correctional Institution ("WCI"), alleges that he...
MEMORANDUM J. FREDERICK MOTZ, District Judge. In this court's July 21, 2014 memorandum and order defendant's motion to dismiss or for summary judgment was denied without prejudice and defendant was directed to either supplement the motion or inform the court of his expectation of the length of trial. ECF 35 and 36. Defendant supplemented the motion to dismiss or for summary judgment asserting that even if the prison policy concerning meal delivery during Ramadan was violated, plaintiff had...
MEMORANDUM OPINION RICHARD D. BENNETT, District Judge. The origins of this contentious case lie in a soured business relationship and the settlement of earlier litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. In this action, Plaintiffs First Data Merchant Services Corporation ("FDMS") and First Data Corporation ("FDC") (collectively "First Data") assert claims against Defendant SecurityMetrics, Inc. ("SecurityMetrics") relating to SecurityMetrics' alleged post-...
J. FREDERICK MOTZ, District Judge. Dear Counsel: I have reviewed the memoranda submitted in connection with defendants' motion for reconsideration. I continue to believe that the process I outlined on October 9, 2014 will bring this matter to a conclusion more quickly than continued litigation. However, in light of the fact that I continue to be of the view that defendants have breached the settlement agreement, and in light of the position that the United States has taken in its "Notice of...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DEBORAH K. CHASANOW, District Judge. Presently pending and ready for resolution in this action arising under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IEDA"), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., are the motion for summary judgment filed by M.C. and her parents, J.J.C. and J.F.C. (collectively, "Plaintiffs") (ECF No. 12), and a cross motion for summary judgment filed by Montgomery County Board of Education and its Superintendent Joshua Starr (collectively, "Defendants" or...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DEBORAH K. CHASANOW, District Judge. Presently pending and ready for resolution in this breach of contract action is the motion of Plaintiff Jerry Fenzel to disqualify Defendants' counsel, the law firm of Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A ("Shulman Rogers"), and to reopen discovery. The issues have been fully briefed, and the court now rules, no hearing being deemed necessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's motion to disqualify Defendants'...
MEMORANDUM CATHERINE C. BLAKE, District Judge. Abdul Shadeed Al-Sabir sues his former employer, CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc. ("CEVA"), alleging that he was discharged on the basis of his race or color in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(1). 1 CEVA now moves for summary judgment. That motion has been fully briefed and no hearing is necessary to its resolution. See Local Rule 105.5 (D. Md. 2014). For the reasons described below, CEVA's motion...
