I’ve written a great deal about venue issues on this blog. I’ve cheered and cried over some more recent opinions. Today is a cheer day based on three weeks old a new Maryland Court of Special Appeals’ opinion. Let’s be honest: plaintiffs’ lawyers would usually rather be in Baltimore City…
Lawyers always argue over anything where there is not black and white set rules. (Actually, we argue when there are set rules, too.) No one exactly knows the rules of the sequences of discovery because the rules are whatever the motions’ judge says there are. So lawyers take positions on…
Today, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said we should lower the blood-alcohol limit from .08, the current standard, to .05. The NTSB argues that the U.S. is too lenient with drunk driving and wants the U.S. to adopt the same standard as other countries, such as those in Europe.…
Last week, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland decided the case of Davis v. Martinez. This was an appeal where the trial court entered an order that permitted the underinsured motorist insurer (State Farm) to participate in the trial anonymously. State Farm was never identified to the jury, the…
The first thing they do in a communist Nazi country is destroy the jury system. Why do they want to destroy the jury system? Because you represent the line between tyranny and democracy, right and wrong. You have the power. . . You have more power today than the President…
Five have applied for the vacancy that will be created when Chief Judge Robert M. Bell retires in July from the Maryland Court of Appeals. Three of the applicants are on the Court of Special Appeals: Judges Stuart Ross Berger, Albert Joseph Matricciani Jr., and Shirley Marie Watts. A Baltimore…
An adjuster with Selective Insurance called this week to ask to meet at my office to discuss the settlement of a personal injury car accident case. She said that Selective is looking to meet with counsel as much as possible to discuss these claims. Selective is a regionally based insurance…
We have been compiling jury verdict information on our website recently so I have been looking through several jury verdicts. Someone needs to do a study of the statistical differences in outcomes in medical malpractice lawsuits against foreign doctors and those born in the United States. I’m telling you, I…
The Maryland Court of Appeals issued an opinion in TransCare v. Murray last week. It is an opinion you should read if you are handling tort cases – or litigating anything – in Maryland. New Maryland Good Sam Opinion This medical malpractice involves the transportation of the minor Plaintiff by…
A Nate Silver wannabe breaks down the question of whether jury size matters in these jurisdictions, where a jury’s verdict does not have to be unanimous. The greater concern is in criminal cases where it seems odd to convict someone to life in prison, as you can in Louisiana, on…