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.
The Appellate Watch Program and articles in the quarterly Trial Reporter have been a part of MTLA member services for three years. Appellate Watch was instituted for several reasons: First, the Program alerts our Amicus Committee about any cases and issues of importance to the MTLA. Second, members are advised of the issues pending before the Court of Special Appeals. Finally, due to the gracious assistance of Court of Special Appeals Clerk, Leslie Gradet, MTLA is able to provide members with copies of appellate briefs cited in these articles. To obtain a copy of a brief at nominal cost, contact MTLA’s Executive Director, Robert Lembo. Please use the order form that appears at the end of Appellate Watch.
Case # Case Name
125-764-01 Montgomery County, Maryland v
George R. Smith
126-2496-00 Waldorf Ford, Inc. v. Stephanie Dean
Counsel for Appellant Area of Law
Worker’s Compensation
Michael T. Wharton (410) 263-5900
Punitive Damages/ Civil Procedure
127-2644-00 Owens-Illinois, Inc. et al., B. Ford Davis v. Harry Cook Sr., et al.
Rombro/ (410) 347-8700
Asbestos Litigation/ “the damages cap”
128-2840-00 M. Kovens Company, et al. Richard D. Rosenthal v. Mass Transit
(410) 752-9700 Administration, et al. Motor vehicle/civil procedure
129-2860-00 Toyota Motor Corporation, Joel A. Dewey et al. v. Prashant Kumar
Byrnes/ (410) 580-3000
Product liability/ crashworthiness
Baltimore City Baltimore City Baltimore City Chappelle/ Charles County Judge Jurisdiction
Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Kavanaugh/ (240) 777-6700
Montgomery County Issues
Did the trial court err in affirming the WCC’s ruling that the claimant, a correctional officer who injured himself af- ter his shift while playing basketball at the detention center’s gymnasium, sustained an accidental injury in the course of his employment?
Did the trial court err in failing to strike a $1.5m punitive damages award (remitted to $265,000) against Waldorf Ford for an alleged fraudulent/unfair trade practice sale of a used motor vehicle? The plaintiff failed to request a jury trial with his Complaint. The defendant sought to withdraw its request for a jury trial, but was denied. Did the trial court err in denying the defendant’s request?
Did the trial court err in ruling that the damages cap did not apply to the plaintiffs’ claims, and in refusing to grant a new trial because plaintiffs’ counsel remarked to the jury about “the cap”?
Did the trial court err in failing to grant a judgment in favor of the plaintiff against an operator of a motor vehicle that proceeded through a stop sign striking a bus, which in turn struck the plaintiff’s building?
Following a judgment of approx. $60m against Toyota and the defendant driver Shumar (apportioned under N.J. law 30% Toyota and 70% Shumar), the court reduced the total verdict to $16m (11m against Shumar and approximately $5m against Toyota). Did the trial court commit reversible error by: 1. permitting Kumar’s expert, Kenneth Laughery, to express unsubstantiated opinion testimony; 2. denying Toyota the same number of preemptory strikes as plaintiff Kumar and co-defendant Shumar; and, 3. admitting irrel- evant and prejudicial hearsay evidence relating to an NTSB report concerning performance and lap/shoulder belts in 167 unrelated motor vehicle crashes, and in excluding re- buttal evidence proffered by Toyota concerning an injury causation diagram relied upon by Kumar’s injury causation expert, Dr. Joseph Burton.
130-27-01
Stanley Chung, M.D. v. Charles E. Swecker, II
Frederick W. Goundry, III/ Stepler/ Conrad Varner
(301) 631-1800 Medical malpractice/evidence
Frederick County
Plaintiff sued defendant doctor for severing the median nerve in plaintiff’s elbow, which resulted in a plaintiff’s verdict of $877,000 (subsequently reduced to $747,000). Did the trial court err in permitting certain expert testi- mony and the use of learned treatises and depositions, in applying the adverse witness rule to the defendant, and in permitting plaintiff’s counsel to exceed the bounds of pro- priety in closing argument?
Winter 2003 Trial Reporter
(Continued on page 46) 45
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