The recent introduction of Senate Bill 316 in the 2002 Maryland General Assembly session, a bill seeking to impose recordation and transfer taxes on the transfer of controlling interest in certain business entities that own real estate, creates an important opportunity to review the subject ...

The Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act of 1940 should be read “with an eye friendly to those who drop their affairs to answer their country’s call.” The purpose of this federal Act, that dates from World War II, is to postpone or suspend some of ...

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled that a landlord was entitled to evict a family because of drug-related criminal activity by one member of the household. Exacerbating the legal quandary before the court was that the household member who engaged in the illegal ...

In a case of first impression, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled that the “issuance of a liquor license is not necessarily coincident with the ownership thereof.” The case of Rosedale Plaza Limited Partnership v. Lefta, Inc., et al. is particularly important to ...

The Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) has been adopted as to commercial law in all 50 states. In what is the first major revision to the UCC in almost two decades, a revised Article IX of the UCC goes into effect in most states, including Maryland, ...

Legislation enacted in the 2001 Maryland General Assembly Session will narrow the ability to transfer real estate to a limited liability company without the payment of recordation and transfer taxes. In a Machiavellian twist, Senate Bill 18, as sponsored by Senator Larry Haines, sought to ...

Maryland has become one of the first states to grant electronic contracts the same status as pen and paper contracts with handwritten signatures. Senate Bill 3 in the 2000 Maryland General Assembly Session, providing that a signature or record may not be denied legal affect ...

Maryland’s highest court recently ruled that use of the word “(Seal)” next to the attestation lines of a contract was not sufficient to constitute a “contract under seal.” In Rouse-Teachers Properties, Inc. v. Maryland Casualty Company, the Court held, despite both parties arguing that a ...