September Term, 2021
For further information, please contact the Clerk's Office at 410-260-1500.
Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Question: Does Md. Code Ann., Public Utilities § 7-304 prohibit the use of energy allocation equipment and procedures, which have not been approved by the Public Service Comission, to bill energy charges to tenants of properties built prior to 1978?
To be argued in the September, 2021 session of Court.
Counsel for appellant: Benjamin Howard Carney and Martin E. Wolf
Counsel for appellees: Syed Mohsin Reza, David M. Gettings, and Timothy J. St. George
Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Question: If a credit grantor is found to have knowingly violated Credit Grantor Closed End Credit Provisions ("CLEC"), Maryland Code Annotated, Commercial Law §§12-1001, et seq., does CLEC § 12-1018(b) require the credit grantor to return three times: (1) all amounts collected by the credit grantor in excess of the principal amount financed; (2) only those amounts collected that the borrower contends violate the CLEC (in this case, the convenience fee); or (3) some other amount.
To be argued in the October, 2021 session of Court.
Counsel for appellant: Cory L. Zajdel, David M. Trojanowski, Jeffrey C. Toppe
Counsel for appellees: Laurie G. Furshman, Robert J. Brener
Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Question: For purposes of determining the reduction of a plaintiff's underinsured motorist benefits required by Maryland Insurance Code 19-513(e), does Maryland law treat the "write-down," or the difference between medical bills submitted by a workers' compensation claimant's health care provider and the lower amount actually paid by a workers' compensation insurer to satisfy those bills, pursuant to the Maryland Guide of Medical and Surgical Fees, as "recovered benefits" to the plaintiff under the Maryland Workers' Compensation Act?
To be argued in the October, 2021 session of Court.
Counsel for appellant: David A. Skomba, Ellen R. Stewart
Counsel for appellees: Peter J. Basile, Daniel S. Baurer, Matt M. Paavola
Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Question: Did the Court of Appeals act within its enabling authority under, inter alia, the State Constitution and the State Declaration of Rights when its April 24, 2020 Administrative Order tolled Maryland's statutes of limitation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
To be argued in the December, 2021 session of Court.
Counsel for appellants: Joseph Larry Katz
Counsel for appellee: Shannon L. Briglia and Shoshana Elise Rothman
Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Question: The Maryland Consumer Loan Law, Md. Code Ann., Commercial Law §§12-301, et seq., applies to consumer "loans" made by "lenders," and requires a "person engaged in the business of making loans" to be licensed. Based upon the allegations in the Third Amended Complaint, is Nagle & Zaller, P.C. subject to the statute?
To be argued in the December, 2021 session of Court.
Counsel for appellants: Shirlie Norris Lake and Alexander V. Cranford
Counsel for appellees: Richard S. Gordon, Benjamin H. Carney, Sara E. Assaid, and Alexa E. Bertinelli
Certified Question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Question: Under Maryland Law, can an individual be convicted of robbery by means of threatening force against property or threatening to accuse the victim of having committed sodomy?
To be argued in the December, 2021 session of Court.
Counsel for appellant: James Wyda and Sapna Mirchandani
Counsel for appellee: Robert K. Hur and Elizabeth G. Wright
Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Questions: (1) Can a tenant who paid rent to a landlord in Baltimore City who lacked a license pursuant to Baltimore City Code, Art. 13 § 5-4 maintain a lawsuit under either the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (the “MCDCA”) or the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (the “MCPA”) to recover the rent paid without a showing of any damages separate from the rental payment itself?
(2) Does a currently licensed landlord violate either the MCDCA or the MCPA by collecting rent from a tenant or pursuing the ejectment actions against a tenant who has failed to pay rent during a prior period when the landlord, or a prior landlord, was not licensed under Baltimore City Code, Art. 13 § 5-4, where the tenant does not allege any damages separate from the rental payment itself?
To be argued in the March 2022 session of Court.
Counsel for appellant: Joseph Mack and Ingmar Goldson
Counsel for appellee: David J. Shuster, Justin A. Redd, Mitchell W. Berger, Jeffrey S. Wertman, and James E. Dickerman