Justia Maryland Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Plaintiffs were employees of a State psychiatric hospital who had been laid off and were not rehired in order of seniority when the hospital later filled vacancies for positions comparable to those previously occupied by Plaintiffs. An administrative law judge denied Plaintiffs’ grievance, concluding that Plaintiffs were not entitled to be rehired under a reinstatement process. The circuit court affirmed. The court of special appeals remanded the case for further factfinding, concluding (1) there is no statutory preference for reinstatement, as opposed to recruitment, in the State Personnel Management System, but if an agency decides to fill vacancies through recruitment, it must follow statutory procedures, including public notice and transparency as to the selection criteria; and (2) it was not clear whether the agency in this case complied with those criteria. The Court of Appeals affirmed by adopting the opinion of the court of special appeals and adding an endorsement to the court of special appeal’s opinion to remove any doubt as to the standing of that decision as the law of the State. View "Sturdivant v. Dep’t of Health & Mental Hygiene" on Justia Law

In two cases, Montgomery County took a portion of properties owned by Respondents. Because the parties disputed the value paid for either taking the County filed a complaint for condemnation. During the proceedings, the circuit court imposed discovery violation sanctions precluding Respondents from introducing evidence as to the fair market value of the taken properties. Respondents were therefore unable to generate a genuine issue of material fact concerning the County's appraisal valuations. As a result, the circuit court granted summary judgment for the County on the issue of just compensation. The court of special appeals reversed, concluding that summary judgment on the question of just compensation is not available in condemnation proceedings because a property owner cannot be deprived of the constitutional right to have a jury determine just compensation. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding (1) permitting summary judgment does not violate the constitutional right to have the opportunity for a jury trial to ascertain just compensation in compensation actions provided the landowner litigates the case according to the Maryland Rules; and (2) summary judgment was properly granted in each case because there was no genuine dispute of material fact and the County was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. View "Montgomery County v. Soleimanzadeh" on Justia Law

A state trooper pulled over Respondent's vehicle for failing to obey a traffic control device. When the trooper approached the vehicle, he detected a "moderate odor" of an alcoholic beverage on Respondent's breath. The trooper placed Respondent under arrest and, after Respondent refused to take an alcohol content test, Respondent was subjected to a suspension of his driver's license. An administrative law judge affirmed the suspension. The circuit court reversed, holding that the record was "deplete of any sufficient indicia of alcohol use" to establish reasonable grounds for a request to take an alcohol content test. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that a moderate odor of alcohol emanating from the person of a motorist, alone, constitutes reasonable grounds to request the motorist to take an alcohol test. View "Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Spies" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs here were employees who had been laid off from their jobs at a State psychiatric hospital and, when the hospital filled vacancies for positions comparable to those previously occupied by the laid-off employees, were not rehired in order of seniority. An administrative law judge denied Plaintiffs' grievance, concluding that they did not have a right to be rehired under a reinstatement process. The circuit court affirmed. The court of special appeals remanded the case for further factfinding, concluding (1) there is no statutory preference for reinstatement, as opposed to recruitment, in the State Personnel Management System; but (2) if an agency elects to fill vacancies through recruitment, it must follow statutory procedure that includes public notice and transparency as to the selection criteria. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) the lower court correctly analyzed the legal issue concerning the interpretation of State personnel law; and (2) because the record did not definitely answer the question whether the agency in this case was filling vacancies by a reinstatement process, rather than recruitment, remand for further factfinding was appropriate. View "Sturdivant v. Dep't of Health & Mental Hygiene" on Justia Law

In 2011, the La Plata Town Council passed four resolutions, including an annexation resolution acquiring a tract of land. Several citizens of La Plata subsequently published a petition to refer the Council's annexation resolution to referendum. The town manager declared that sufficient signatures had been submitted. As such, the annexation resolution was suspended and all four resolutions were referred to referendum. Several referendum opponents filed a petition for judicial review of the manager's report validating the signatures and advancing the referendum to a vote. The circuit court judge ruled in favor of the referendum opponents, holding, inter alia, that although the petition for referendum presented foremost a land annexation resolution, the inclusion of the additional resolutions invalidated the petition. The Court of Appeals vacated the opinion and remanded, holding (1) where the petition for referendum contained legislative enactments that were collateral to the land annexation resolution but did not obfuscate the subject matter of the petition for referendum, the additions do not invalidate the petition; and (2) the town manager acted within his authority when he published Town policies for the validation and verification of signatures for referendum. View "Town of La Plata v. Faison-Rosewick LLC" on Justia Law

Respondent was a driver of a motor vehicle that was involved in a crash. The officer that responded to the accident arrested Respondent and requested that he take a blood test to determine alcohol concentration after noticing a "strong odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from the person and breath" of Respondent. An ALJ subsequently suspended Respondent's driver's license for ninety days. The circuit court reversed, concluding that only if the accident was Respondent's fault that an inference could be drawn, in combination with the odor of alcohol, that there were reasonable grounds to conclude Respondent was under the influence of alcohol or intoxicated. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the police officer's certification that a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was present on Respondent's breath and person constituted reasonable grounds to request an alcohol content test. Remanded. View "Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Sanner" on Justia Law

CareFirst, Inc., a nonstock, nonprofit Maryland corporation, is a holding company with two subsidiaries that provides health insurance for millions of Maryland residents. State law confers broad authority on the Maryland Insurance Commissioner to oversee its operation and adherence to its mission. This case arose from the termination of Leon Kaplan, a former executive of CareFirst. CareFirst declined to pay part of the post-termination compensation set forth in Kaplan's employment contract, reasoning that the compensation was not for "work actually performed," as that standard had been interpreted by the Commissioner. The Commissioner affirmed the decision not to pay the benefits, concluding that the payments would violate Md. Code Ann. Ins. 14-139. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) the Commissioner's determination was not preempted by ERISA; (2) the Commissioner's construction of the insurance code was legally correct; and (3) there was substantial evidence to support the Commissioner's determination in this case. View "Md. Ins. Comm'r. v. Kaplan" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, in two separate lawsuits, sued a medical doctor and medical center for medical negligence, lack of informed consent, and fraud. Prior to the trial date, Defendants successfully moved to bifurcate the trials. The administrative judge of the circuit court vacated the trial judge's orders bifurcating the trials and reassigned the cases to another judge for trial. Defendants filed a petition for writ of mandamus or prohibition to reverse the administrative judge's orders. The Court of Appeals vacated the administrative judge's orders and reinstated the orders of the trial judge, holding that, under the circumstances, the administrative judge did not have the authority to review and vacate the trial judge's decision to bifurcate the trials and to unilaterally reassign the cases. View "St. Joseph Med. Ctr. v. Circuit Court (Turnbull)" on Justia Law

Petitioners challenged the validity of two Prince George's County ordinances regulating the packaging, sale or other distribution of cigars on several alternative grounds. One of Petitioners' arguments was that the General Assembly had legislated in the area so extensively that an intent to occupy the entire field must be implied. The circuit court granted Respondents' motions for summary judgment, rejecting each of Petitioners' contentions. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for the entry of a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, holding that state law occupies the field of regulating the packaging and sale of tobacco products, including cigars, and thus impliedly preempts the two ordinances enacted by the county council of Prince George's County. View "Altadis U.S.A., Inc. v. Prince George's County" on Justia Law

The Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) is a public corporation established by the legislature to aid in promoting the economic development of the State. This litigation arose from MEDCO's involvement in the development of a technology development center. MEDCO sought a loan with Bank to finance the center. MEDCO executed a leasehold deed of trust with Bank requiring MEDCO to pay all recording costs and fees in connection with filing the loan documents. MEDCO subsequently presented the deed of trust for recording in Montgomery County, claiming an exemption from the recordation tax based on Md. Code Ann. Econ. Dev. 10-129(a), which granted MEDCO a tax exemption "from any requirement to pay taxes or assessments on its properties or activities." The county transfer office denied the exemption and required MEDCO to pay recordation tax. The county department of finance denied MEDCO's recordation tax refund claim. The tax court denied MEDCO's petition for appeal. The circuit court reversed, and the court of special appeals reversed the circuit court. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that, based on the plain language of section 10-129(a), the legislature intended to exempt MEDCO from paying the recordation tax at issue in this case. View "Md. Econ. Dev. Corp. v. Montgomery County" on Justia Law