News & Insights

Baltimore County Council Approves Master Plan 2030

By: Adam Baker and Jennifer Busse March 4, 2024 On February 20, 2024, the Baltimore County Council voted to approve the Baltimore County 2030 Master Plan.  While the Baltimore County Charter requires the Master Plan to be updated every ten years, Master Plan 2030 was delayed several years on account of the COVID pandemic and…

What We Know So Far About Corporate Transparency, its Constitutionality and Compliance

February 29, 2024 Updated: March 8, 2024 By: Gabby Shirley and Amelia Miller Reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) became effective as of January 1, 2024. The reach of the CTA is extremely broad and it is likely that most small businesses will be deemed “Reporting Companies” required to register with the US Department of Treasury’s…

Oh What a Difference a Supreme Court Decision Makes

February 1, 2023 By: William L. Hallam In its January 18, 2024 opinion in In Re Hilgartner, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit exhibited deference to U.S. Supreme Court precedent by forcefully rejecting an argument that the Fourth Circuit itself had previously accepted. Lee Andrew Hilgartner assaulted Ysuko Yagi.  After Yagi…

Maryland Appellate Court Addresses Obligation of Tenant Shut Down by COVID Order to Pay Rent

December 27, 2023 By: William L. Hallam Nearly four years after the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, issues concerning the legal consequences of executive and legislative orders shutting down business operations are still working their way through appellate courts throughout the United States.  Maryland’s second highest appellate court addressed some of these issues in its…

The Red Line Issue No One Is Talking About: Mass Acquisitions of Private Land To Accomplish This Public Project

November 30, 2023 By: Harris W. Eisenstein and Amelia Miller Roughly a decade ago, then-Governor Larry Hogan nixed plans for a public transit project connecting East and West Baltimore known as the Red Line. Governor Wes Moore revived the Red Line project in June 2023, and in recent months, various media outlets have reported on…

What Are the Rights of a Guarantor Who Buys a Loan Against Co-guarantors?

November 2, 2023 By: William L. Hallam The scenario is fairly common.  A bank makes a loan to a business.  The owners of the business guarantee the loan.  The business defaults.  The owners blame each other for the failure of the business.  When the bank demands payment of the loan, the more liquid owner who…

Third Circuit Holds That Furnisher Who Receives Notice of an Indirect Dispute Has Absolute Duty to Investigate Under FCRA

October 16, 2023 By: William L. Hallam News accounts of instances of stolen identity in which identity thieves incur debts in the names of innocent consumers are common.  Given the structure of the consumer credit industry, it is difficult for consumers to know where to turn to try to fix the problem.  The ostensible creditor…

Kiviti v. Bhatt: Fourth Circuit Brain Twister

September 20, 2023 By: William L. Hallam The scope of Bankruptcy Court jurisdiction has been the subject of numerous decisions, including multiple decisions by the United States Supreme Court since Bankruptcy Courts were created by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Initially, Congress created Bankruptcy Courts as stand-alone courts and purported to give them exclusive…

Thirty-Five Rosenberg Martin Greenberg Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Best Lawyers® 2024, Two as “Lawyer of the Year”

August 17, 2023 Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP is proud to announce that 35 of its attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ 2024 lists to be featured in U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, Caroline Hecker, Managing Partner, and Jennifer…

Appellate Court of Maryland Holds That “Loss Before Foreclosure Rule” Applies to Non-Recourse Reverse Mortgages

August 2, 2023 By: William L. Hallam The “loss before foreclosure rule” provided for in the Restatement (Third) of Property (Mortgages) §4.8 specifies that when improvements on secured property are destroyed by fire and the loan is due and payable, where a mortgagee has a right to foreclose and is entitled to insurance proceeds, the…