PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
September Term, 2021
Granted January 11, 2022
Pedro Steven Buarque de Macedo v. The Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut – Case No. 52, September Term, 2021
Issue – Courts & Judicial Proceedings – Does Md. Code § 5-806 of the Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article render the household exclusion clause in an umbrella policy void, up to the limits of motor vehicle liability coverage, as to motor vehicle personal injury or wrongful death claims of unemancipated children or estates of such children against their parent?
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc., et al. v. CREG Westport I, LLC, et al. – Case No. 53, September Term, 2021
Issues – Environmental Law – 1) Do the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act require an opportunity for direct appeal of an approved forest conservation plan? 2) Does the approval of a forest conservation plan constitute a final agency action subject to judicial review?
Robert Rainey v. State of Maryland – Case No. 54, September Term, 2021
Issues – Criminal Law – 1) As a matter of first impression, can a suspect’s change in appearance (in this case, a change in hairstyle) at some point between the time of the crime and the time of his arrest, support a destruction-of-evidence jury instruction? 2) Under the four-inference test adopted in Thompson v. State, 393 Md. 291 (2006), consciousness-of-guilt jury instructions may not be given unless evidence supports all four of the necessary inferences. As a matter of first impression, is a trial judge required to consider the four inferences on the record before giving a consciousness-of-guilt jury instruction, here a destruction-of-evidence instruction? 3) Even if the trial court is not required to state its reasoning regarding the four inferences on the record: (a) was it improper to give the instruction in this case where the evidence did not support the four inferences because petitioner had not been charged or arrested at the time of his haircut and there was no evidence that he was aware that he was the subject of an investigation, and (b) is reversal required where there is no indication in the record that the trial court considered the four Thompson inferences? 4) Did CSA err in holding that although “it is preferable, in all cases in which a defendant has allegedly changed his appearance in order to avoid identification, to employ a custom instruction that focuses on the change of appearance as potential evidence of consciousness of guilt,” the giving of the destruction-of-evidence instruction was harmless in this case because a different modified instruction that does not include the language “You have heard evidence that the defendant destroyed evidence” could have been given but was not? 5) Was giving the destruction-of-evidence jury instruction harmless error where the pattern instruction was not modified, the prosecutor relied on the instruction in closing argument, the jury asked multiple questions during deliberations regarding changes in Petitioner’s appearance, and significant evidence pointed to the guilt of another party?
The Town of Upper Marlboro v. The Prince George's County Council – Case No. 55, September Term, 2021
Issues – Land Use – 1) Was CR-72-2019 a final appealable decision that had to be challenged within 30 days of finality as required by Md. Code § 22-407 of the Land Use Article? 2) Was Petitioner’s appeal of CR-98-2019 sufficient to challenge the deficiencies in CR-72-2019? 3) Was the decision of the County Council sitting as the District Council deficient in setting for the purpose and scope of the minor amendment in the initiating resolution (CR-72-2019) as required by Section 27-642 of the Prince George’s County Code?
State of Maryland v. Juan Pablo Bustillo – Case No. 56, September Term, 2021
Issue – Criminal Procedure – Did CSA err in holding that a trial court’s failure to comply with Maryland Rule 4-346(a) when imposing a period of probation results in an “illegal sentence” within the contemplation of Maryland Rule 4-345(a)?
Andrea Jo Hancock, et al. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, et al. – Case No. 57, September Term, 2021
Issues – Torts – 1) Does an employer’s duty to exercise reasonable care in hiring an independent contractor extend to employees of the independent contractor? 2) When a contractor recognizes dangerous job site conditions, does the contractor owe a duty to employees of a co-contractor to identify, warn against, or mitigate the hazard?
Denied/Dismissed January 28, 2022
Alexander, Malcolm v. State - Pet. Docket No. 297
Battaglia-Chester v. Specht - Pet. Docket No. 270
Bolden v. Lash - Pet. Docket No. 313
Cao v. Zalucki - Pet. Docket No. 308
Cobey, John v. State - Pet. Docket No. 346
Cncl. of Unit Owners Chelsea Woods Courts v. Gates BF Investor - Pet. Docket No. 377
Dorado, Ramon Jesus v. State - Pet. Docket No. 339
Dressler v. Dickens - Pet. Docket No. 261
Efo v. Fondjo - Pet. Docket No. 267
Greene, Marquise Q. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 242
Hines, Howard v. State - Pet. Docket No. 208
Hooker v. JN Property Solutions - Pet. Docket No. 320
In re: X.R. and Z.R. - Pet. Docket No. 319
In re: Z.L. - Pet. Docket No. 316
In the Matter of: Estate of Parikh - Pet. Docket No. 330
Key Systems v. Bd. of Education, Anne Arundel Cnty. - Pet. Docket No. 326
Latimer, Anthony Leon v. State - Pet. Docket No. 333
Lee, Ralph William, III v. State - Pet. Docket No. 324
Lewis, Michael v. State - Pet. Docket No. 327
Linkit, LLC v. The Midtown Group - Pet. Docket No. 310
Mally, Francis, Jr. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 334
McDermott v. Noonan - Pet. Docket No. 263
Mitchell, Justin v. State - Pet. Docket No. 300
Moaadel v. Moaadel - Pet. Docket No. 301
MSM Security Services v. Chevy Chase Land Company - Pet. Docket No. 315
Pevia v. Wexford Health Resources - Pet. Docket No. 186
Ramos, Jose v. State - Pet. Docket No. 285
Raymond v. Rowe - Pet. Docket No. 329
Scott, Wayne v. State - Pet. Docket No. 335
Scroggings, Justin v. State - Pet. Docket No. 328
Seay v. Minpley - Pet. Docket No. 336
Thompson v. Charles Cnty. Detention Center - Pet. Docket No. 343
Thompson v. E&R Services and City of Laurel - Pet. Docket No. 306
Webber v. Comptroller of Maryland - Pet. Docket No. 318
Weddington, Robert Clifford v. State - Pet. Docket No. 347
Wolf v. Wolf - Pet. Docket No. 307
Granted January 31, 2022
William Madison v. The CopyCat Building, LLC – Case No. 58, September Term, 2021
Issue – Real Property – Did the trial court err in construcing Md. Code § 8-208(a) and § 8-402(c) of the Real Property Article to find that the term for a tenant living in an unlicensed dwelling without a written lease as one year that becomes month-to-month when the tenant accepted the landlord’s written offer to renew her tenancy for an additional year and the landlord, in violation of § 8-208(a), did not provide the tenant with a written lease after the expiration of the year term?