September 2020 Maryland Certiorari Grants

The Court of Appeals today granted review in one criminal appeal and two civil appeals.

Effrem Antoine Conner v. State of Maryland – Case No. 26, September Term, 2020 (Unreported COSA Opinion by Battaglia, J.)

Issue – Code of Judicial Conduct – Given that Drug Court is a non-adversarial, team-based treatment program in which participants are expected to openly discuss relapses and other setbacks in their recovery, should a judge who supervised a defendant in Drug Court generally recuse from the defendant’s subsequent violation of probation proceeding when the conduct that allegedly violated the conditions of probation was the subject of Drug Court hearings, meetings, and correspondence?

Larry Lee v. WinnCompanies LLC – Case No. 25, September Term, 2020 (Certiorari to Circuit Court)

Issues – Real Property – 1) Did the Circuit Court commit an error of law in affirming the District Court’s denial of a motion for a new hearing after finding, on the basis of the record before the trial court, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion? 2) Did the Circuit Court err in finding an appeal untimely when, pursuant to Rule 7-104(c), the Petitioner noted an appeal to a summary ejectment action within 30 days after the disposition of a timely filed post-judgment motion?

Whitney Wheeling, et al. v. Selene Finance LP, et al. – Case No. 27, September Term, 2020 (Reported COSA Opinion by Kehoe, J.)

Issues – Real Property – 1) Did CSA err in holding that a defendant’s violation of Md. Code § 7-113 of the Real Property Article does not give rise to a cause of action unless the protected resident physically vacates the residential property? 2) Did CSA err in holding that a consumer’s claim for emotional damage, such as fear, anxiety, anger, and accompanying physical manifestations, does not adequately allege an injury to state a private cause of action under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (“MCPA”)? 3) Did CSA err in holding that attorneys’ fees incurred as a result of a defendant’s unfair and deceptive misrepresentations made in violation of the MCPA do not constitute a recoverable injury supporting a private cause of action?