Winter 2016
The Wrongful Death Statute in Maryland: A Summary of Mummert and Spangler
By Anne M. McGinley
The recent decisions by the Maryland Court of Appeals in Mummert v. Alizadeh (2013) and Spangler v. McQuitty (2015) establish clarification of the statute of limitations under Maryland’s Wrongful Death statute, Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-904. In Mummert, the decedent did not bring any medical negligence claims during her lifetime. At…
Recent Developments - Maryland
Blevins v. Platt
Plaintiffs, Dana Blevins and Garrett Brackins filed suit against Defendant, Jacob Piatt alleging damages arising from a motor vehicle collision. Defendant filed a motion to strike allegations in Plaintiffs’ Complaint in which Plaintiffs alleged their vehicle was rendered a “total loss”. Defendant also moved to strike allegations in the Complaint…
Scarborough, et al. v. Altstatt
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals rejected a challenge to a twenty-year-old case in which the Court of Appeals found that the statute of limitations is not tolled for victims of childhood sexual abuse claiming dissociative amnesia. On December 4, 2014, Robin Scarborough, Alice Altstatt and Carol Alstatt, filed complaints…
Kratz v. Medsource Community Services, Inc.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed dismissal on statute of limitations grounds finding that the appointment of a guardian removes the disability of a mentally incompetent individual for purposes of the Maryland tolling statute. On July 18, 2008, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County found that Kurt Kratz,…
Recent Developments - Virginia
Fourth Circuit Warns of Potential Gap in Coverage for Closely Held Businesses That Fall Short of Bringing Company Vehicle Completely Within Company Ownership
Recently, the 4th Circuit made a ruling that will likely result in some sleepless nights for owners of closely held businesses. In overruling a decision by the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the appellate court found that the wife of a businessman was not covered…
Federal Rule Resolves Dispute in Virginia Regarding Arbitration Clauses in Nursing Home Contracts
On September 28, 2016, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the federal Health and Human Services Department, issued a rule prohibiting the use of pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements for long-term care facilities that accept federal money. Since virtually every nursing home facility participates in Medicare and Medicaid,…
Virginia Advisory Committee on Rules of Court Considering Change to Rule 2:607
The Advisory Committee on Rules of Court, of the Judicial Council of Virginia, is considering changing current Virginia Rule of Evidence 2:607 relating to impeachment of a witness. Currently, Rule 2:607 provides that “[s]ubject to the provisions of Rule 2:403, the credibility of a witness may be impeached by any…
Recent Developments - District of Columbia
Parham v. CIH Properties, Inc., et al.
A tenant filed suit for property damage arising from a leak in her apartment closet. After a trial before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the court concluded that while the tenant had proved the liability portion of her case, the tenant had failed to prove…
Blount v. JEH Johnson
A settlement agreement was entered into order to resolve multiple claims of violations of an employee’s equal employment opportunity. Prior to executing the settlement agreement, the employee learned of another equal employment opportunity claim – that the employee had not been selected for a particular job opportunity. Despite learning of…
Did You Know...
Maryland House Bill 606
This bill, entitled Patient Safety Early Intervention Programs, effective as of October 1, 2016, allows hospitals, related institutions, and insurers to establish patient safety early intervention programs to respond to adverse medical events. It provides that statements, such as offers of compensation and apologies, made by someone during a discussion held…
About the Firm
ABOUT THE FIRM
DeCaro Doran is pleased to announce that Karen Wager, Peggy Vetter and Adam Perrelli have recently joined the firm as Associate attorneys. Karen Wagner obtained her degree in Political Science from State University of New York at Geneseo in 2010. Thereafter, she attended Charlotte School of Law, earning her J.D.…