Law digest: 5/23/11

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MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS

Professional Responsibility, Disbarment: Disbarment was the appropriate sanction for an attorney who assisted the children of an incompetent person in the execution and recording of forged and fraudulent documents. Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Coppola, Misc. Docket AG No. 5, Sept. Term, 2010. RecordFax No. 11-0429-20.

Professional Responsibility, Disbarment: Attorney’s acts of misappropriating client funds and settling a client’s claim without the client’s knowledge or consent warranted the gravest sanction of disbarment. Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Stern, No. 15, Sept. Term, 2010. RecordFax No. 11-0503-20.

COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS

Contracts, Life insurance: Under the mailbox rule, a lapsed life insurance policy was reinstated where the insured directed his bank to electronically pay the premiums three days prior to his death, even though at the time of the insured’s death, the insurer had not yet received the funds. United States Life Insurance Company in City of New York v. Wilson, No. 2544, Sept. Term, 2009. RecordFax No. 11-0428-00.

Criminal Law, Traffic control devices: Lane-designation marks on a roadway are “markings” and therefore “traffic control devices” as defined for purposes of the Maryland statute requiring a driver to obey the instructions of any traffic control device. Stephens v. State, No. 2982, Sept. Term, 2009. RecordFax No. 11-0428-03.

Criminal Procedure, Destruction of evidence: Where potentially exculpatory evidence was destroyed prior to defendant’s trial, defendant’s due process rights were not violated because there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of bad faith on the part of law enforcement. Gimble v. State, No. 133, Sept. Term, 2010. RecordFax No. 11-0429-00.

Evidence, Admissibility of other crimes: Evidence that defendant defecated into the mouth of alleged victim of a prior sexual assault was admissible under the absence of mistake exception of Rule 5-404(b), where the current victim testified that defendant did the same to her. Cousar v. State, No. 2683, Sept. Term, 2009. RecordFax No. 11-0428-01.

Insurance Law, Waiver of sovereign immunity: Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim against the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, an agency or instrumentality of the State when acting in its capacity as an insurer, was barred by sovereign immunity because Plaintiff had not filed suit within the one-year period during which immunity was waived under SG §12-202. Daughton v. Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, No. 2770, Sept. Term, 2009. RecordFax No. 11-0429-02.

Negligence, Employer’s liability: Employer of overworked, fatigued driver who collided with plaintiff was not liable for plaintiff’s injuries because the doctrine of respondeat superior did not apply and the employer’s actions were not the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries. Barclay v. Ports America Baltimore, Inc., No. 2501, Sept. Term 2009. RecordFax No. 11-0429-04.

Real Property, Equitable conversion: Financing contingency contained in home purchase contract did not prevent occurrence of equitable conversion at time of execution of contract and thus purchaser’s claim of equitable title was superior to that of creditors who had obtained confessed judgment against vendor after execution of contract but before closing of sale. Grant v. Kahn, No. 886, Sept. Term, 2008. RecordFax No. 11-0427-00.

Workers’ Compensation, Jurisdiction: Issue of whether Workers’ Compensation Commission had jurisdiction to award claimant temporary total disability benefits during pendency of appeal of claimant’s permanent partial disability award became moot, warranting dismissal of appeal. Sanchez v. Potomac Abatement, Inc., No 569, Sept. Term, 2010. RecordFax No. 11-0427-01.

U.S. 4TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

Criminal Procedure, Tax fraud: Where, in criminal tax prosecution, district court judge made repeated references to guilty pleas entered by defendant’s associates, references constituted trial error because pleas were not in evidence, but, since error was harmless, judgment of the district court was affirmed. United States v. Poole, No. 09-5128. RecordFax No. 11-0511-60.