Petitions for Writ of Certiorari - December 2018

PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

September Term, 2018

 

Granted December 13, 2018

Comptroller of the Treasury v. Richard Reeves Taylor - Case No. 56, September Term, 2018

Issues - Taxation – 1) Is the value of a surviving spouse’s interest in a QTIP trust created in another state properly included in the surviving spouse’s Maryland estate, and therefore subject to the Maryland estate tax? 2) Did the Tax Court improperly waive a late-filing penalty when waiver must be supported by “affirmative evidence” and the only basis cited for the waiver was the personal representative’s erroneous interpretation of the tax laws? 3) Is Petitioner’s taxation of the QTIP trust in the estate unconstitutional? 4) Is the fact that an issue was raised before the Tax Court, but not expressly decided by that agency, sufficient to permit review of that issue on appeal from the agency ruling?

Elliot Dackman, et al. v. Daquantay Robinson, et al. - Case No. 55, September Term, 2018

Issues – Torts – 1) Did CSA, in upholding the admission of the testimony of an expert witness, fail to follow the appropriate standards elucidated in Lewin Realty III, Inc. v. Brooks (138 Md. App. 244 (2001) aff’d. 378 Md. 70 (2003)) and Sugarman v. Liles (460 Md. 396 (2018))? 2) Does it violate due process and fairness, and is it a miscarriage of justice, for a trial judge to sua sponte amend the scheduling order solely to the benefit of one party, and extend that party’s expert designation deadline by over a year, while simultaneously denying Petitioner’s request to amend their own expert deadline, extend the discovery deadline, and postpone the trial to alleviate the prejudice?

In re Adoption/Guardianship of: H.R., E.R., & J.R. - Case No. 55, September Term, 2018

Issues – Family Law – 1) Are the Department’s Permanency Planning Reports, which contain hearsay and double hearsay, inadmissible under the public records exception to the rule against hearsay? 2) Was CSA’s conclusion that the reports were admissible, based on its conclusion that they were an appropriate subject for judicial notice, in error? 3) Can the juvenile court admit documents for their non-hearsay purpose of forming the basis of an expert’s opinion and then, independently, rely on the evidence to support its basis for terminating a parent’s rights?

MAS Associates, LLC, et al. v. Harry S. Korotki - Case No. 57, September Term, 2018

Issue – Corporations & Associations – Did the trial court misinterpret and misapply the Revised Uniform Partnership Act, in conflict with the LLC Act, by creating a partnership among three non-member employees of a longstanding LLC after their attempts to negotiate an amendment to the LLC’s 2004 Operating Agreement with its members failed?

Diane Steele v. Diamond Farm Homes Corp. - Case No. 59, September Term, 2018

Issues – Corporations & Associations – 1) Was Petitioner’s defense to a suit for HOA dues, that she did not owe dues for the amounts of increases imposed without the supermajority required under the Declaration of Covenants, invalid due to ultra vires or laches? 2) Did the trial court err and abuse its discretion with an award of attorney fees against Petitioner, since Respondent submitted no affidavit, lost in district court, and the principal recovered was less than one third of the awarded attorney fees?

Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust v. William Edward Busch, Jr., et ux. - Case No. 58, September Term, 2018

Issues – Torts – 1) May asbestos exposure to a specific defendant’s product be inferred from the defendant’s substantial presence in the facility? 2) Should juries be told that other defendants have been dismissed from the case when the complaints against them are admitted in evidence as admissions by the plaintiff?

 

 

Denied December 14, 2018

Asafo-Adjei, Kwame v. State - Pet. Docket No. 349
Bly v. Colbert - Pet. Docket No. 359
Boone, Timothy Milton v. State - Pet. Docket No. 374
Bowleys Quarters Community Ass'n. v. Galloway Creek - Pet. Docket No. 344
Bush, Patrick v. State - Pet. Docket No. 365
Holland, Thomas E. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 369
Holloway v. Garrett - Pet. Docket No. 361
Kim v. Clark and Law Firm of Clark & Steinhorn - Pet. Docket No. 362
Manzili v. Sanford - Pet. Docket No. 208
McCray v. Driscoll - Pet. Docket No. 378
North American Title Insurance v. Md. Insurance Admin. - Pet. Docket No. 368
Paysinger, Stephen v. State - Pet. Docket No. 370
Rucker, Ahmed R. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 363
Sapper v. Montgomery Co. Safe Speed - Pet. Docket No. 343
Shing v. Evans - Pet. Docket No. 283
TAL Associates v. Carter - Pet. Docket No. 351
Thaniel, Traves v. State - Pet. Docket No. 340
Walker v. Dawkins - Pet. Docket No. 346
Washington, Keith A. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 360
Whitlock v. James F. Knott Realty Group - Pet. Docket No. 267
Wigfall, Maurice Michael v. State - Pet. Docket No. 367