Appellate Watch by Walter E. Laake
Walter E. Laake, Jr. is a partner in the firm Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. of Greenbelt. He received his J. D. from the Univ. of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Laake holds the office of Secretary of MTLA, and is a Member of its Board of Governors and a member of its President’s Club as a Founder. He serves as Vice-Chair of the Membership Committee and is a member of the Amicus and Unfair Insurance Claim Practices Committees. Mr. Laake is a Past President of the Prince George’s County Bar and serves on its Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission. He is also a member of the Attorney Grievance Commission’s Inquiry Panel, the TLPJ, and a Lifetime member of ATLA. His practice includes professional negligence, product liability, and employment law.
Case # Case Name 98-398-00
Counsel for Appellant Area of Law
Edward Sterling, on behalf Jonathan Schochor of the Estate of Laverne
(410) 234-1000
Sterling, et al., v. Johns Medical Malpractice/ Hopkins Hospital
Summary Judgment 99-1888-00 Keith Menser v. Donald Dembo, et al. 100-2160-00 George M. Hay v. Dolores Trionfo, et al. 101-2475-00 Francis D. Butler v. Gerard P. Uehlinger
(410) 821-0025 Premises Liability/ Summary Judgment
Thomas McCarthy, Jr. Wright, Jr./ (410) 268-4016
Contracts/Judgments John F.X. Costello
Fort Washington Medical (301) 306-1900
Center, et al., and James A. Bankruptcy/Motion to Little, et al. v. Fort Wash- ington Medical Center, et al.
102-2808-00 Violet L. Hill v. Ronald Singleton, et al.
Timothy Guy Smith (301) 587-7080
Uninsured Motorist/ Insurance Law
103-2809-00 Sophia Abdullah, M.D. Brian J. Nash v. Leticia Amadi, et al.
104-2822-00 Lorena L. Branch, (410) 263-5900 Medical Malpractice/Evidence Ralph T. Byrd
Individually, and as Personal (301) 774-3117 Representative of the Estate Medical Malpractice/ of Herman Branch v. Johns Breach of Release Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, et al.
105-2884-00 Lynette R. Roseman v. Leonard S. Goodman Tenth RMA Partners, L.P. (301) 251-6200
Civil Procedures/ Sanctions
106-2901-00 Terri Young, et al. v. Barry Stringer, et al.
40
Sanford Z. Berman (301) 459-8200
Corporate Law/Dissolution Trial Reporter
Unnamed/Baltimore County
Kavanaugh/ Montgomery County Holland/Baltimore City
Sothron/Prince George’s County
Lift Stay of Proceedings
Krauser/Prince George’s County
Baltimore County Platt/Prince George’s County Cave/Baltimore City Judge Jurisdiction
Warren/Wicomico County
Issues
Notwithstanding a previous request for helicopter transfer, a Johns Hopkins Hospital physician accepted a patient for transfer and ordered a two-and-a-half hour ambulance trans- port, during which time the patient suffered an irreversible brain injury resulting in her death two days later. Did the trial court err when it granted the Defendant, Johns Hopkins Hospital, summary judgment finding there was no doctor/patient relationship?
Did the trial court err in excluding Plaintiff’s premises li- ability expert and in granting a judgment NOV on the issue of the Defendant’s liability for maintaining a nightclub that has sharp jagged cobblestone walls and pillars with wooden edges?
Did the trial court err in granting judgment against the Defendant who signed the contract (release) on behalf of the corporate entity, but not himself?
In a medical malpractice case where one of the Defendants, Greater Southeast Community Hospital, is in bankruptcy, did the trial court err when it denied Plaintiff ’s Motion to Lift Stay and refused to permit the case to continue against the remaining Defendants?
Plaintiff was driving friend’s rental vehicle from National Airport when struck by an uninsured motorist. Did the trial court err in granting summary judgment in favor of MAIF, the Plaintiff’s automobile UM insurer, and Alamo Rent-a-Car based on Virginia law that UM coverage is not available to anyone other than the renter?
In this case involving an Erbs palsy injury to an infant’s left shoulder, did the trial court err in failing to strike Plaintiff’s sole standard of care expert, Dr. Lawrence Borow, and in failing to grant Defendant’s judgment NOV request fol- lowing a $400,000.00 verdict?
Did the trial court err in granting Defendant’s Motion to dismiss the Plaintiff’s negligence claim, and sua sponte dis- missing Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim, which alleged that the Defendant breached the malpractice settlement agreement by failing, as agreed, to “take reasonable steps and make good faith efforts to secure publication of a case report in a respected medical publication regarding Plaintiff ’s husband’s stroke and subsequent death...within twelve months of the settlement”?
Did the Court err in entering a default judgment against Roseman because her counsel failed to appear at the status/ pre-trial conference without first holding a hearing on the appropriateness of the sanction and obtaining counsel’s explanation for his non-appearance?
In a case involving an involuntary dissolution of a corpora- tion, did the trial court err in accepting the appraiser’s stock evaluation, which discounted the appraised value of the stock by 40% due to lack of “marketability?”
Summer 2002
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