Magistrate Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland recently held that a woman who fell in a display boat at a boat show has established a sufficient claim to proceed to trial. In the case of Schneider v. Ed’s Marine Superstore, Inc., a woman was injured when she slipped and fell in a boat. She claimed the boat […]
In the case of Friedetzky v. Hsia, a New York resident was alleged to be the father of a child in a custody action brought in Maryland, by the child’s mother. The New York resident requested a paternity test and engaged in financial discovery before admitting he was the child’s father. Thereafter, the mother amended her complaint and sought child support and, as a result, […]
In the Washington, D.C. case of Mason Builders, Inc. v. Bancroft Const. Co., a prime contractor was alleged to have induced one of its subcontractors to fire a lower tier subcontractor, namely D.C. Mason Builders, who was working for the subcontractor. D.C. Mason Builders asserted that its work was proper and that the basis for its termination was racial discrimination. The United States District Court dismissed the […]
The case of Cofield v. The City of Baltimore involved allegations of police brutality (assault, false arrest, false imprisonment, etc.). However, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed the case largely because the Plaintiff waited too long to file it. The court held that both the state and federal claims were governed by the Maryland statute of limitations (legally imposed time […]
When a parent flees to another country with a child to evade the other parent’s custody rights, the Hague Convention, generally requires the child’s immediate return so that custody rights can be determined in the child’s country of residence. However, the United States Court is not bound to order the return of the child if there is a grave risk that his or her return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place […]
In the case of State v. Manion, an unlicensed home improvement contractor was given a sentence by the trial court of 65 years with 30 years suspended for taking deposits from homeowners, not performing work and lying about his credentials (among other things). The decision was overturned by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals which indicated that there was not enough evidence of intent. The […]
“Piercing the corporate veil” or pursuing an individual for the debt of a corporation or LLC is very hard to do. This is the case even when that individual is responsible for running and deriving profit from that corporation or LLC. However, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals may have made it a bit easier. It has ruled that, where there is no allegation of […]
The amount of automobile insurance coverage that a Maryland driver is absolutely required to have is very small. Frankly, minimum insurance coverage is inadequate in the event of serious injuries or death. Therefore, a savvy car owner will make sure that he has obtained a substantial amount of uninsured/under-insured coverage. However, in order to obtain uninsured/under-insured benefits, an injured party must proceed carefully. In the […]
A special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) is a child who is abused, neglected, or abandoned and who, with their family, illegally entered the United States. The law still requires that the immigrant child obtain an order from a state court making findings that the juvenile satisfies certain criteria. Once a state court makes an SIJ order, a child may file with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services […]
Judge Bredar of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland recently buttressed the well-established doctrine that a subcontractor cannot sue an owner for the debts of the general contractor by using an unjust enrichment or quantum meruit theory of recovery. The judge also held, in the case of Elite Construction Team, Inc. v. Wal-Mart, that attempts to establish a constructive trust are […]