Summer 2016
Intoxicated Drivers and Punitive Damages In Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia
By Mark A. Kohl
Claims involving intoxicated drivers raise a host of issues and concerns ranging from the effect of the intoxication on coverage to the potential that the intoxication may influence a jury’s findings on liability and damages. One specific concern, however, varies greatly across Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia –…
Recent Developments - Maryland
Potential Change to Professional Rules of Conduct on Continuances
In September, the Maryland Court of Appeals will consider a proposed rule change. The change would make it a violation of professional ethics for a lawyer to accept a case with a trial date that conflicts with a case the lawyer already has. The proposed rule would require the attorney…
Andrew David Toms v. Calvary Assembly of God
Toms owned a dairy farm on the adjacent property to the church run by Calvary Assembly of God, Inc. The church had gotten a proper permit, with supervision by a deputy fire marshal, for a fireworks display. The display occurred with no malfunctions or misfires. However, several of the dairy…
Crystal v. MidAtlantic Cardiovascular
This interesting medical negligence case involved an implantation of an allegedly unnecessary stent in the Plaintiff’s coronary artery in 2004, seven years before suit was filed. The Plaintiff did not file a lawsuit against his doctor until he happened to read a newspaper article suggesting that this doctor had been…
Moran Paving v. Asphalt & Concrete Services
This case involved the recurring issue of whether evidence of insurance or no insurance could be brought up during a trial. This case involved a motor vehicle accident and a claim, among others, for negligent hiring. The Prince George’s County Circuit Court allowed the Plaintiff to introduce evidence that a…
Guy Named Moe v. Chipotle Mexican Grill
This battle of the Mexican restaurants unfolded in Annapolis over Chipotle’s application for a special exception to build a restaurant at the city dock 425 feet from Moe’s Southern Grill. Moe objected to the city’s approval of the application and sued Chipotle in the Circuit Court. Chipotle, not to be…
Recent Developments - Virginia
Tolling: Statute of Limitations Versus Contractual Limitations Period
In Sethi v. Citizens Ins. Co., the United States District Court was asked to decide whether Virginia’s tolling provision, Va. Code § 8.01-229 (E)(3), applies to a contractual limitation period contained within a home owner’s insurance policy. The court held that it did not, stating that the Virginia Supreme Court made…
Statutory Changes to Virginia’s Underinsured Statute Hope to Promote Settlement
Changes to Virginia’s underinsured motorist (“UIM”) statute took effect on January 1, 2016. These changes, which apply to policies issued or renewed after January 1, 2016, were enacted with the goal of encouraging early settlement of meritorious cases. Prior to the changes, under Virginia Code § 38.2-2206 the underlying liability carrier…
Recent Developments - District of Columbia
Terrylene Sacchetti, et. al. v. Gallaudet University, et. al.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that a university owed no duty to protect a student from his own self-inflicted harm, but that the university may be held liable for a false arrest for calling the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) in response…
Atiya K. Reeves v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals held that there was a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the condition of a wet floor in a Metro station on a rainy day during rush hour was a dangerous condition that imposed a duty upon Washington Metropolitan Area Transit…
Did You Know...
ABOUT THE FIRM
DeCaro Doran is pleased to announce that Matt Gannett has recently joined the firm as an Associate attorney. Matt obtained his B.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland (Go Terps!) in 2010, and then attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 2013. Following…