Robert Fischer

The case concerned whether Peter Kahl's facility for breeding, raising, and selling exotic snakes on his 4.72-acre property in Baltimore County qualified as a 'farm' permitted under RC-4 'Resource Conservation—Watershed Protection' zoning. Neighbors and the People's Counsel appealed after the County Board of Appeals approved the use, and the circuit court reversed that decision as a matter of law. The Court of Special Appeals applied the substantial evidence standard to review the Board's factual findings that the operation involved raising, breeding, keeping, and marketing animals in a manner consistent with farm activities, while noting deference to the agency's interpretation of the zoning regulations it administers. The court considered undisputed facts about the barn-like structure, temperature-controlled rooms, on-site rat breeding for feed, and lack of community safety issues. It ultimately addressed whether the Board's conclusion should be reinstated based on the record.

propertyenvironmentbusiness & regulatory

The case concerned a declaratory judgment action to determine insurance coverage for Melody Lowe following a 1996 motor vehicle accident in which she collided with another driver while operating a car owned by Bob Bell Automotive Group and provided for her parents' use. Universal Underwriters Insurance Company, Bell's insurer, sought a ruling that it had no duty to defend or indemnify Ms. Lowe under its policy, while Ms. Lowe moved for summary judgment asserting coverage under the policy's garage or auto parts based on her parents' permission. The court examined the policy language in Parts 500 and 900 regarding the scope of permission, ruled that extrinsic evidence about Bell's restrictions on use was admissible to show lack of permission, and addressed whether the allegations potentially triggered a duty to defend.

torts & liabilityprocedure

The case concerned Clarence Elmer Ross, Jr., who was convicted in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute after a jury trial. Ross appealed, arguing that the State violated Maryland’s 180-day rule under Art. 27, § 591 and Md. Rule 4-271 by entering a nolle prosequi on the original charges when its request for a continuance was denied by the administrative judge, then reindicting him so that trial occurred after the original deadline had passed. The appellate court agreed that the State had used the nolle prosequi to circumvent the mandatory 180-day period, which therefore ran from the first indictment; because trial did not occur until after that period expired, the court reversed the convictions and remanded with directions to dismiss the charges.

criminal lawprocedure

This case concerns a 1992 petition for a writ of error coram nobis filed by Robert Donnell Jones to vacate his 1975 guilty plea to assault with intent to murder on grounds that the plea was involuntary due to heroin influence. After the petition was denied, the circuit court granted a belated appeal, but the appellate court addressed whether such an appeal from coram nobis denial is permissible under the Post Conviction Procedure Act and whether relief was warranted. The court held that coram nobis remains available only where no other statutory remedy exists and affirmed the denial of relief, reasoning that a facially valid conviction carries a presumption of regularity, the appellant failed to meet his burden of proof with evidence such as transcripts, and coram nobis cannot relitigate facts already decided at the original proceeding. The judgment denying the petition was therefore affirmed.

criminal lawprocedure

This case arose from a fatal 1992 car accident on Interstate 83 in which Barbara Goren's vehicle crossed the median and was struck by oncoming traffic; her husband sued the driver of a nearby vehicle for negligence, the insurer under uninsured motorist coverage for a possible phantom driver, a construction company for negligent shoulder grading, and the State Highway Administration via third-party claim. After a jury found no liability for any defendant and deemed the decedent contributorily negligent, the appeal challenged evidentiary rulings and jury selection procedures. The court reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial judge improperly allowed a lay police witness to offer expert opinions on accident causation and that adverse co-defendants should not have been permitted to confer when exercising peremptory challenges, though the interests were correctly deemed adverse for allocating strikes.

torts & liabilityprocedure

In Miller v. Bosley, the mother appealed an interlocutory order that granted pendente lite custody of the parties' child to the father's sister, a non-party who had not been joined in the custody action between the parents. The trial court adopted a master's recommendation for immediate transfer of custody based on doubts about both parents' fitness and credibility. The appellate court vacated the order and remanded, holding that the record was inadequate for review, the master had not properly notified or involved the parents regarding third-party custody, and the chancellor was required to exercise independent judgment rather than defer to the master's findings without exceptions or a sufficient hearing. The decision emphasized the legal presumption favoring natural parents absent a showing of unfitness or exceptional circumstances detrimental to the child.

family lawprocedure