Certified Questions of Law Currently Before the Court of Appeals

Jabari Morese Lyles v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. - Misc. No. 3, September Term, 2021

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

 

Jesse J. Murphy, et al. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. - Misc. No. 5, September Term, 2021

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

 

Nagle & Zaller, P.C., et al. v. Jamal E. Delegall, et al. - Misc. No. 6, September Term, 2021

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

 

Joel Adam Dickson v. United States of America - Misc. No. 7, September Term, 2021

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

 

Alison Assanah-Carroll v. Law Offices of Edward J. Maher, P.C., et al. - Misc. No. 11, September Term, 2021

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

 

Tapestry, Inc. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company - Misc. No. 1, September Term, 2022

Certified Question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Question: When a first-party, all-risk property insurance policy covers “all risks of physical loss or damage” to insured property from any cause unless excluded, is coverage triggered when a toxic, noxious, or hazardous substance – such as Coronavirus or COVID-19 - that is physically present in the indoor air of that property damages the property or causes loss, either in whole or in part, of the functional use of the property?

To be argued in the September 2022 session of Court.

Counsel for appellant: Deborah B. Baum, Laura Ann Freid-Studlo, Janine M. Stanisz, Scott D. Greenspan, Joseph D. Jean, and Maria T. Galeno
Counsel for appellee: Bryant Steven Green and Craig David Roswell