By Alan B. Sternstein

The odyssey of Maryland Reclamation Associates (“MRA”) to construct and operate a rubble landfill in Harford County began in August 1989. It shortly ran into legislative, regulatory and judicial hurdles, leading to 30 years of administrative and judicial litigation. MRA’s 30 year saga continued with a recent and now fifth Court of Appeals decision in this story. In “MRA V” (Opinion, Maryland Reclamation Assocs. v. Harford C’ty, No. 52, September Term 2019 (Md. decided Apr. 24, 2020)), in an 80 page opinion, the Court of Appeals nullified a $45,076,420 verdict for MRA in an inverse condemnation action that MRA brought after being unable to secure zoning variances required for the landfill. The court rejected the Court of Special Appeals’ own determination that MRA had exhausted its administrative remedies before bringing its action and ruled that MRA’s action should be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Though MRA did stumble some over the last 30 years, the Court of Appeals in MRA V reached an arguably justified prospective rule of procedure in condemnation cases but questionably did so in applying that rule to MRA. Read More…

By Brad McCullough

Business entities such as corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies must have a resident agent in Maryland who is authorized to accept service of process. If an entity fails to abide by its statutory obligations regarding maintenance of a resident agent, or if good faith efforts to serve the resident agent fail, the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation may be served in the resident agent’s stead. Does that service on SDAT, however, comport with due process? Does it matter if the party trying to serve the resident agent knows that the resident agent’s official address might be wrong and might know the resident agent’s actual address? In that situation, does service on SDAT satisfy due process? The Court of Appeals was recently faced with these questions in Mayor & City Council of Balt. v. Prime Realty Assocs., Inc., No. 53, Sept. Term, 2019, 2020 WL 2460110 (May 12, 2020). In its opinion, the Court essentially created a “safe harbor” for a party that makes substituted service on SDAT in strict compliance with the applicable rule of procedure. Yet the Court also hinted that the safe harbor might disappear if the serving party has actual knowledge that the resident agent’s address listed with SDAT is wrong. That answer, however, must await another day. Read More…

By John Grimm and Amy Richardson

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan made headlines when he appointed a retired federal judge to oppose the Government’s motion to dismiss its criminal case against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, and to make a recommendation as to whether to hold Flynn in criminal contempt for perjury.[1] The move was universally regarded as highly unusual. But, while prosecutors’ motions to dismiss charges are generally granted without much fanfare, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure do require leave of court,[2] so Judge Sullivan must approve the withdrawal. Read More…