Maryland Court of Appeals Decisions 2016
Date: December 16, 2016
Docket Number: 26/16
Justia Opinion Summary: Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP, the owner and operator of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, applied to FERC and the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) for authorization to expand the terminal into a facility…
Date: December 15, 2016
Docket Number: 8/16
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Roderick Colvin was convicted of felony murder and other crimes. Colvin later filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Maryland Rule 4-345(a). In this motion Colvin argued, for the…
Date: November 29, 2016
Docket Number: 1/16
Justia Opinion Summary: Under the rent escrow statute, if a tenant is successful in showing that a landlord was aware of certain conditions or defects in the rental property and failed to correct them, the tenant may be entitled to an abatement…
Date: November 29, 2016
Docket Number: 94/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and other offenses. Defendant appealed his conviction of attempted second-degree murder, challenging the trial judge’s finding that defense…
Date: November 22, 2016
Docket Number: 19/16
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant seeking damages for defamation and false light invasion of privacy. During trial, the circuit court ruled, as a matter of law, that Defendant was entitled to a conditional…
Date: November 15, 2016
Docket Number: 6/16
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, Petitioner was indicted on fifteen charges related to a sexual assault. Petitioner entered an Alford plea to first degree rape and kidnapping and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus thirty years. In 2008,…
Date: November 10, 2016
Docket Number: 4/16
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a joint criminal trial of two codefendants - Dorrien Allen and Tevin Hines. Hines appealed the trial court’s denial of his motion for a severance, arguing that he was prejudiced by the admission into…
Date: November 1, 2016
Docket Number: 5/16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant filed a pro se petition for postconviction DNA testing of a broom and dust pan pursuant to Md. Code Ann. Crim. Proc.…
Date: October 28, 2016
Docket Number: 10/16
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) granted Petitioner’s application for vanity license plates bearing the word “MIERDA.” The MVA later rescinded the plates according to a State regulation…
Date: October 7, 2016
Docket Number: 3/16
Justia Opinion Summary: Following his arrest for illegal drug activity, Petitioner was released on bond and withdrew all of the money contained in two bank accounts. Law enforcement traced the money to Petitioner’s sister’s bank account and…
Date: August 25, 2016
Docket Number: 101/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, United Insurance Company of America and the Reliable Life Insurance Company, filed a declaratory action against Respondents, the Maryland Insurance Administration, et al., (“MIA”) challenging the retroactive…
Date: August 25, 2016
Docket Number: 105/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Maryland Supreme Court granted the State’s petition for a writ of certiorari in this case to decide whether the Uniform Postconviction Procedure Act (“UPPA”) granted the Court of Special Appeals the authority to…
Date: August 25, 2016
Docket Number: 25/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Baltimore County and the Fraternal Order of Police have entered into numerous collective bargaining agreements over the years. This case arose out of a dispute over the interpretation of a provision in some of those…
Date: August 24, 2016
Docket Number: 78/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of murder and related offenses arising from a failed armed robbery in 1994. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2013, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of actual innocence under…
Date: August 24, 2016
Docket Number: 84/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in denying…
Date: August 24, 2016
Docket Number: 93/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The well-known author Thomas Clancy (Decedent) died in 2013. Decedent was survived by his second wife (Mrs. Clancy), a minor child by that marriage, and four adult children from Decedent’s first marriage. Decedent left a…
Date: August 22, 2016
Docket Number: 88/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of, among other crimes, first-degree murder. As relevant to this appeal, the jury found Defendant not guilty of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and attempted…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 102/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown, Brown & Brown, P.C. (BB&B), a Virginia law firm, entered into more than fifty agreements over a nine-month period with Maryland homeowners facing foreclosure. Under the agreements, in return for an advance payment…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 103/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Brenda Smith slipped on the floor in the course of her employment and landed on her left knee when she fell. Smith filed a workers’ compensation claim seeking benefits from Delaware North Companies and its insurer…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 72/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Almost three years after her involvement in a motor vehicle accident with Petitioner, Respondent brought a personal injury action against Petitioner and his employer (together, Petitioners). Between the time of the…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 74/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted on several drug-related counts, which resulted in a two-day jury trial. During jury deliberations, the trial court received a jury note stating that the jury was deadlocked on a particular count…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 85/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for several drug offenses. Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence seized by police officers from his person, alleging that his detention in handcuffs while in a car that he had been driving…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 86/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Baltimore County zoning regulations provide for a planned unit development (PUD) approval process that is partly legislative and partly quasi-judicial or adjudicative. Whalen Properties, LLC, the developer of a proposed…
Date: July 19, 2016
Docket Number: 62/15
Justia Opinion Summary: In the divorce proceeding of Husband and Wife, Husband argued that the marital portion of his Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension should be reduced in order to reflect an offset for the amount of Social…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 46/14
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, an instructor at a martial arts school, engaged in sexually explicit communications with his student - a fifteen-year-old girl who regularly attended his class. The communications occurred while Respondent…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 65/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a deputy sheriff stopped Petitioner for a traffic violation, the officer inserted his head into the passenger side window of Petitioner’s vehicle. The officer detected the odor of marijuana, and Petitioner was…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 69/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents, on behalf of their minor child, Dylan, sued Petitioners after Dylan received severe injuries during his birth. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Dylan. Ultimately the court reduced the judgment to…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 87/15
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered around Petitioner’s written request under Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) for information regarding the value of unclaimed property accounts in the custody of the Comptroller of Maryland. The…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 92/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor household member and several other sex offenses. Petitioner was sentenced to terms of imprisonment and required to serve supervised probation upon…
Date: July 11, 2016
Docket Number: 100/15
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Respondent, a citizen of Ecuador, pled not guilty on an agreed statement of facts and was found guilty of second-degree child abuse. In 2013, Respondent filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis alleging…
Date: July 11, 2016
Docket Number: 34/15
Justia Opinion Summary: A clinical review panel authorized the forced medication of Petitioner, a resident of a facility operated by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. An administrative law judge (ALJ) affirmed. Petitioner sought…
Date: July 11, 2016
Docket Number: 89/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother, the parents of two minor children, were divorced in 2011 pursuant to a decree that granted them joint legal custody. In 2014, Father filed a motion to modify custody, seeking sole custody of his sons.…
Date: July 11, 2016
Docket Number: 95/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Under Md. Code Ann. Lab. & Empl. (LE) 9-632, an award of benefits by the Workers’ Compensation Commission survives the death of an injured employee. Under Md. Code Ann. Lab. & Empl. (LE) 9-640, an award of benefits…
Date: July 7, 2016
Docket Number: 79/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Brittany Conover conceived a child through artificial insemination from an anonymous donor. She and Michelle Conover gave birth to a son, Jaxon, and married when Jaxon was about six months old. The next year, the lesbian…
Date: July 5, 2016
Docket Numbers: 20/15, 55/15
Justia Opinion Summary: These two cases involved the common facts of underage people drinking alcohol on an adult’s property and then leaving that property in a motor vehicle. The alcohol was consumed with the knowledge and consent of the adult…
Date: July 5, 2016
Docket Number: 77/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, individuals with lung cancer, attempted to join in one action claims against Defendants, asbestos and tobacco companies, alleging that their cancers were caused by their exposure to asbestos and smoking…
Date: June 23, 2016
Docket Number: 50/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of neglect of a minor. Petitioner was sentenced to twenty days’ incarceration. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed. The Court of Appeals granted certiorari to address the…
Date: June 23, 2016
Docket Number: 67/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, the assignee of an entity that paid certain sewer connection charges, sought a refund of the charges, asserting that they were improperly charged by the Town of Bel Air. The Town’s Director of Finance denied…
Date: June 23, 2016
Docket Number: 71/15
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Petitioner entered an Alford plea to second degree rape. Thereafter, Petitioner filed several motions for DNA testing. In 2005, the petition was granted, but the results of the testing yielded inconclusive…
Date: June 23, 2016
Docket Number: 80/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commissioner of Financial Regulation of the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation brought an administrative enforcement action against CashCall, Inc., a California corporation that marketed high-interest…
Date: June 22, 2016
Docket Number: 73/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a complaint against the State of Maryland alleging negligence and malfeasance of an unspecified clerk of the district court. Specifically, Petitioner alleged that she was injured as the direct and…
Date: June 22, 2016
Docket Number: 90/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act), the amount of compensation due to a “covered employee” - which may include a sole proprietor - who has a “permanent total disability resulting from an accidental personal…
Date: May 26, 2016
Docket Number: 68/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Adkins started working at PRMC in 2005, delivering and organizing supplies. In April 2011, Adkins went to PRMC’s emergency room after experiencing pain. Adkins was diagnosed with a tear in the joint of her hip and a…
Date: May 23, 2016
Docket Number: 59/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Maryland Critical Area law establishes a cooperative program with local jurisdictions to ensure that land near Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coastal bays has special protection against development that might cause…
Date: May 23, 2016
Docket Number: 75/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Cambridge Police Officer Mothersell stopped petitioner at 1:00 a.m. after observing him speeding and failing to stop at a stop sign. Mothersell – the only witness at the suppression hearing – said that, when he…
Date: May 23, 2016
Docket Number: 80ag/14
Justia Opinion Summary: White, a member of the Bar of Maryland, represented Fleming and Sewell, while under a Conditional Diversion Agreement (CDA) with Bar Counsel for prior misconduct involving mismanagement of her attorney trust account. The…
Date: May 23, 2016
Docket Number: 81/15
Justia Opinion Summary: In cases consolidated for this appeal, defendants were found guilty but not criminally responsible at the time of the commission of the offense and were committed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The court…
Date: May 23, 2016
Docket Number: 82/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Advice of Rights form assists law enforcement officers with making the advisements that are required by Md. Code, Transp. 16-205.1,2, (the implied consent, administrative per se law), which provides a basis for the…
Date: May 20, 2016
Docket Number: 19m/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Fangmans sought to represent a class of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 individuals who, from 2009 to 2014, retained Genuine Title for settlement and title services and utilized various lenders for the purchase and/or…
Date: May 20, 2016
Docket Number: 76/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband refused to have his vasectomy reversed, but accompanied his wife to a fertility center. She delivered a child through in vitro fertilization (IVF)2 using donated sperm. Husband was later found to be the father of…
Date: May 20, 2016
Docket Number: 96/15
Justia Opinion Summary: On April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray suffered an injury while in police custody; one week later, he died from those injuries. The state charged six Baltimore police officers in connection with Gray’s death. Officer Porter’s…
Date: May 4, 2016
Docket Number: 49/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. After the State rested its case, defense counsel moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that the only evidence of corpus…
Date: May 3, 2016
Docket Number: 41/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The assessment of real property in the State for property tax purposes is calculated by reference to the value on the “date of finality,” which is defined as “January 1, immediately before the 1st taxable year to which…
Date: April 26, 2016
Docket Number: 35/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Consumer Protection Division of Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General (CPD) concluded that Petitioner and his companies engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices in violation of the Maryland Consumer…
Date: April 26, 2016
Docket Number: 53/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this dispute were a city and a design engineer. The city and the design engineer settled their dispute pursuant to an agreement that contained a non-disparagement clause. After the city released the design…
Date: April 26, 2016
Docket Number: 56/15
Justia Opinion Summary: A Guy Named Moe, LLC (Moe), a foreign limited liability company doing business in Maryland, and Chipotle Mexican Grill of Colorado, LLC both operate a chain of restaurants. In 2012, Chipotle applied for a special…
Date: April 25, 2016
Docket Number: 46/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Following the birth of twin boys in 2009, Petitioner executed an affidavit of parentage attesting that he was the boys’ father. In 2011, the Wicomico County Bureau of Support Enforcement alleged that Petitioner was…
Date: April 22, 2016
Docket Number: 1/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Prince George’s County terminated the employment of Marlon Ford, a member of the County Police Civilian Employees Association, after a criminal investigation during which Ford was questioned regarding alleged crimes. The…
Date: April 22, 2016
Docket Numbers: 39/15, 40/15
Justia Opinion Summary: In two cases before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Commission concluded that under Md. Code Ann. Lab. & Empl. 9-806, the amount owed to the Subsequent Injury Fund (SIF) by the employers in these cases - the…
Date: April 22, 2016
Docket Number: 57/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was charged with second-degree assault and drug offenses. Respondent and defense counsel, a public defender, later appeared for a motions hearing, and defense counsel moved for a postponement, indicating that…
Date: March 28, 2016
Docket Number: 27/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Moran Perry was injured when he was struck by a dump truck operated by William Johnson and owned by Higher Power Trucking, LLC. Asphalt Concrete Services, Inc. (ACS) had hired High Power to perform services at the time…
Date: March 28, 2016
Docket Number: 3/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of child abuse, second degree rape, third degree sexual offense, and incest. As charged, any of the three sexual offenses could have provided the basis for the child abuse conviction. The court…
Date: March 28, 2016
Docket Number: 47/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Maryland Underground Damage Prevention Authority cited Reliable Contracting Company for violating Md. Code Ann. Pub. Util. Cos. 12-101, under which advance notice must be given to the one-call system of certain types of…
Date: March 28, 2016
Docket Number: 51/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of child sexual abuse, third-degree sex offense, and second-degree sex offense. Defendant appealed, asserting that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to suppress a…
Date: March 25, 2016
Docket Number: 58/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and openly wearing and carrying a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree…
Date: March 25, 2016
Docket Number: 60/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff alleged that she was injured as a child by lead-based paint at a property owned and managed by Defendant. By the time that Plaintiff filed the complaint, the property at issue had been demolished, and there was…
Date: March 11, 2016
Docket Numbers: 42/15, 43/15, 44/15
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case were municipal separate storm sewer system discharge permits the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) most recently issued to several counties and one city (collectively, the Counties).…
Date: February 29, 2016
Docket Number: 26/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, who operated a dairy farm and maintained a herd of nearly 100 head of cattle, filed suit against Respondents, alleging that a church-sponsored fireworks display that took place on property adjacent to his…
Date: February 24, 2016
Docket Number: 54/15
Justia Opinion Summary: While living in Maryland, Petitioner opened a personal line of credit and a credit card account with Respondent. Respondent later filed two complaints against Petitioner in a Maryland district court, one for the…
Date: February 23, 2016
Docket Number: 33/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with first degree murder and attempted first degree murder. While there was no dispute that Defendant shot the victim, his defense was that he acted in self-defense and did not intend to hit anyone.…
Date: February 23, 2016
Docket Number: 45/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The complaint in this case was brought both individually and as a class action. Plaintiffs, a police union and others, asserted that Montgomery County, a charter county, was not authorized to use its fiscal and human…
Date: February 22, 2016
Docket Number: 28/15
Justia Opinion Summary: After a joint jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of second degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The court of special appeals affirmed.…
Date: February 22, 2016
Docket Number: 29/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent decided not to renew the lease of Petitioner, a tenant in an apartment building, and filed a tenant holding over action. Petitioner argued that the non-renewal and tenant holding over action were in…
Date: February 22, 2016
Docket Number: 48/15
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) adopted new procedures regarding the application process for surgical abortion facilities, including the requirement that individuals and other…
Date: January 28, 2016
Docket Number: 86/14
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were indicted for possession of a controlled dangerous substance, intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, and possession of a firearm with a nexus to drug trafficking. Defendants moved for…
Date: January 27, 2016
Docket Number: 12/15
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether an order granting a petition for writ of actual innocence constitutes a final judgment such that the State can appeal it directly. Petitioner here filed a petition for writ of actual…
Date: January 27, 2016
Docket Number: 30/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to a third degree sexual offense. Defendant was sentenced to one year incarceration and was required to register as a sex offender. Six years later, Defendant petitioned for a writ of actual…
Date: January 27, 2016
Docket Number: 32/15
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case were two parcels of land in the Emerald Hills Subdivision called the Triangular Parcel and Parcel 765. In 2009, the owners of Parcel 765 began construction of a paved driveway on the Triangular…
Date: January 26, 2016
Docket Number: 10/15
Justia Opinion Summary: American Sedan Services, Inc. is a commercial transportation service that has a permit from Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) to provide ground transportation services at the Baltimore Washington International…
Date: January 22, 2016
Docket Number: 23/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner operated a lake-front recreational campground on her property in Caroline County. The lake was contaminated allegedly by run-off from failed septic systems serving homes and businesses in the Town of…
Date: January 22, 2016
Docket Number: 36/15
Justia Opinion Summary: The Capital Crescent Trail, a hiker/biker route, runs between Georgetown in the District of Columbia and Silver Spring, Maryland. Its path was formerly used as a railroad. When the trains stopped running, the property…
Date: January 22, 2016
Docket Number: 38/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was stopped for failure to securely fasten a registration plate and was arrested after a police officer observed signs of impairment. Respondent agreed to take an alcohol concentration test, which he passed,…
Date: January 21, 2016
Docket Number: 17/15
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, on her own behalf and as the personal representative of the estate of her deceased son, brought a wrongful death suit against Petitioner, a Baltimore City police officer, alleging negligence and gross…
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