In a particularly fact-based ruling, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled that a non-related person living with a policy holder was not covered as a dependent person for the purposes of an “umbrella” insurance policy. In Rigby v. Allstate Indem. Co., (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Sept. 30, 2015), the…
In a victory for the plaintiff, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reversed the lower court’s order of summary judgment against her, allowing her lead paint claim to proceed. In Smith v. Rowhouses, 117 A.3d 622, 624 (Md. App. 2015), the plaintiff brought a negligence action against the defendant, alleging that…
In a recently released opinion in the case of Stidham v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Aug. 27, 2015), the Maryland Court of Special Appeals finally answered the question of whether or not joinder of wrongful death claims against asbestos defendants with wrongful death claims asserted against tobacco…
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland recently issued an opinion regarding a negligence action brought by the mother of a deceased minor against a host who allowed minors to consume alcohol at her home. The circuit court granted the defendant-host’s motion to dismiss the negligence claim, holding that no…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals released an opinion in the case of Cash & Carry Am., Inc. v. Roof Solutions, Inc., 117 A.3d 52 (2015), providing a detailed explanation of the duty of care in a negligence action. The plaintiff in the case brought a negligence action against a…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals recently filed an unreported opinion in the case of McQuitty v. Spangler, Md. Ct. Sp. App. (2015), in which they decided the issue of whether the decedent’s survivors could bring a wrongful death action for the same conduct as the underlying personal injury action,…
In a recent opinion, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals decided whether a trial court erred in refusing to allow plaintiff’s lead-paint inspection of a non-party’s home. In Johnson v. Franklin, the plaintiff had filed a lead-paint poisoning suit against a defendant property company that had previously owned the house.…
A recent case decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals addressed the issues of whether an insurance company may waive its right to receive written notice of a settlement offer from a motor vehicle insurance liability insurer, as required under Md. Code Ann., Ins. § 19-511, and whether the insurance…
In a recent slip and fall case, Zilichikhis v. Montgomery County, Md. Ct. Sp. App. (2015), the Maryland Court of Special Appeals had before it a case arising out of an 82-year-old man’s slip and fall inside a parking garage owned and operated by a governmental agency. The plaintiff had been…
In a recent wrongful death claim a Missouri police officer allegedly caused an accident that resulted in four deaths. A settlement was reached for $ 2.25 million to the surviving family members of the deceased parties. The driver, a police officer, was apparently intoxicated at the time of the…