What do I need to do to file a Failure to Pay Rent Case in Baltimore City? Baltimore City landlords must comply with registration, inspection, and licensing requirements before initiating Nonpayment of Rent actions in rent court. Residential landlords that anticipate the need to file a Failure to Pay Rent…
Being appointed an agent under a financial power of attorney, or as a Court-appointed guardian, comes with a significant delegation of authority. However, it is important to know that such delegation of power is not without limits. For example, an agent can only exercise powers specifically granted under the power…
After the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the limitation on an individual’s ability to itemize tax deductions resulted in higher income tax for many Maryland business owners. On May 8, 2020, Maryland enacted legislation allowing pass through entities (primarily LLCs, partnerships and S corporations) to…
WeWork. WeLitigate. We Holdings LLC and We Company (collectively “WeWork”) is a privately held company that leases office space on a short-term basis. Following a failed IPO in 2019, the company was faced with a liquidity crisis. In response, the board of directors formed a special committee (the “Special Committee”) to…
The Statutory Right to Purchase Shareholder Stock in the Dissolution of a Close Corporation In Bartenfelder v. Bartenfelder, 248 Md. App. 213 (2020), the Court of Special Appeals considered whether a complaint by a stockholder in a close corporation seeking the appointment of a receiver triggers the right of another…
WEIRD SCIENCE: MARYLAND’S NEW TEST FOR THE ADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT TESTIMONY. For more than forty years, Frye-Reed endured as Maryland’s test for the admissibility of expert testimony based on novel scientific principles or techniques. Named after its near century-old progenitor, Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir.…
On July 14, 2020, the Maryland Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Plank v. Cherneski, (Misc. No. 3, Sept. Term 2019) (July 14, 2020), which finally harmonized Maryland case law as to the existence of a standalone “breach of fiduciary duty” claim. The Court held that such a claim exists…
Marketing entrepreneurs’ greatest strengths are their creativity and vision. It is this vision that drives many to take the leap to start their own agency/consultancy or join a start-up venture to market an exciting new product. Unfortunately, most marketers are not well-versed in the intricate legal issues involved with starting…
In the midst of the Great Depression, Congress enacted two laws to shore up practices that were considered to have led in part to the Market Crash of 1929: the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act”), which governs initial securities offerings; and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (“1934…
Ned Parent, a member of Silverman Thompson’s Business Litigation Group, published an article in the September 2017 issue of the Maryland State Bar Association’s “Bar Bulletin” publication. Mr. Parent’s article discussed the “undue influence” standard used in Caveat proceedings (the formal term used for proceedings challenging the validity of a…
Concern regarding “waste, fraud and abuse” in government spending is everywhere these days, it seems. Even in 2017, it is a solidly bi-partisan concern. A quick internet search reveals that think tanks from the progressive Center for American Progress to the libertarian Cato Institute have published on the topic, and…
Omni Imaging, LLC (“Omni”), a Maryland limited liability company, filed its lawsuit against our clients, Blue Ridge X-Ray Co., Inc. (“Blue Ridge”) and Richard A. Wilson, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, on or about October 12, 2016, alleging breach of contract, tortious interference with contract…
Businesses are obliged to ensure that their facilities comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. But can anyone who believes he has found a violation somewhere sue to remedy it? The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland recently considered what types of plaintiffs may initiate such litigation, and…
Long a consistent and ardent judicial champion of the constitutional protections afforded citizens under the Fourth and Sixth Amendments, one cannot help but wonder how Justice Scalia would have viewed the showdown between Apple and the Department of Justice. The DOJ and FBI intentionally selected a headline case to push…
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland issued an opinion this week that serves as a reminder that a party’s simple failure to preserve evidence can sometimes snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The case (and link) is Cumberland Insurance Group v. Delmarva Power. The short version of the…