New Case on Attorneys' Fee Awards

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals today decided Friolo v. Frankel, which will be known as Friolo IV because it is the fourth appeal of this case on the issue of attorneys' fees in a wage payment and collection case under Maryland law.

The opinion is here.

It is likely that none of the parties in the case are happy with the result. According to Plaintiffs' counsel, they have billed hundreds of thousands of dollars in this case, but were only awarded a fraction of those fees. Defendants have spent similar amounts and the result of the case requires that they pay Plaintiffs the original (small) judgment in the case and more than four times that much in legal fees to the Plaintiffs' counsel.

Reported Maryland Court of Special Appeals Case on Personal Jurisdiction: Owning Unimproved Real Estate is not Sufficient Minimum Contacts

An issue that often is litigated is personal jurisdiction, or “can we sue the defendant here?” Last week, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals rendered a published opinion on the issue in the case of Cappel v. RIASO, LLC. A copy of the opinion is here. In this case, the court was asked to determine whether, in an action to enforce a confession of judgment clause in a guarantee of a promissory note that was signed outside of the State of Maryland, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland had personal jurisdiction over the guarantors (Mr. & Mrs. Cappel) by virtue of their owning unimproved real estate in Maryland that was unrelated to the issues in the case. The Circuit Court had found that it did have jurisdiction over the Cappels because by owning the land the Cappels were “transacting business” in Maryland and they had sufficient “minimum contacts” with the State of Maryland to allow personal jurisdiction.

The Court of Special Appeals reversed and vacated judgments against the Cappels for $2,938,312.51. The Court found that owning unimproved real estate in the State of Maryland was not sufficient to allow for personal jurisdiction in Maryland where the real estate in question had nothing to do with the dispute between the parties.

This means that the Plaintiff will now need to start over and sue the Cappels in either D.C. or Virginia, and that the lien on the Cappel’s Maryland real estate that was created by the judgment will be vacated. One wonders whether the Cappels will be able to sell the property before the creditor is able to obtain a new judgment in D.C. or Virginia and then record it as a lien against the Cappels’ Maryland property.

Dan Snyder v. The Washington City Paper -- Why Didn't Snyder Choose Home Field Advantage?

In a case of note, local businessman Daniel Snyder of Rockville/Potomac, MD brought a libel suit in New York against local free newspaper The City Paper. A link to the lawsuit is here.

There is obviously a lot being written about this case now. One issue that I have not seen any information on is the choice of forum/venue. Snyder sued in New York, when he is a Montgomery County, Maryland resident, and would presumably have "home field advantage" here in Rockville. Or, maybe he thought that his reputation locally was so bad that he had to seek a venue where fewer people (Judges and Jurors alike) have formed an opinion of him.

I will wait and hope that the issue of venue/jurisdiction is litigated and that the case comes home to Rockville where it belongs.

Business Law - New Maryland Landlord Tenant Case Law

On August 22, 2007, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in the Hanna v. ARE Acquisitions, LLC that a commercial landlord could not maintain an action against the owners of a former tenant for trespass where the tenant allowed a substantial amount of property to remain in the leased premises after the tenant vacated the premises. The Circuit Court for Mongtomery County, Maryland had ruled in favor of the owners of the tenant and the landlord appealed to the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. The Court of Special Appeals reversed, holding that the landlord was allowed to sue for trespass. The Court of Appeals reversed the Court of Special Appeals, and held that there cannot be a cause of action for trespass under circumstances where property is left in a leased premises. The Court reasoned that there cannot be a trespass where the property came into the premises during the tenant's posession of the premises. A copy of the opinion can be accessed on the Maryland Judiciary website:

http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2007/87a06.pdf.