Recently in Property Law Category

Dan and Debbie Scoggins wanted the best for their son Jacob. After their requests to their Homeowner’s Association for permission to build a wheelchair ramp at the front door of their home and for permission for Jacob to ride an ATV within the housing subdivision went unanswered, they filed suit under the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) on his behalf.

The family made their initial request to allow Jacob, who is partially paralyzed from a childhood accident, to ride an ATV around the property’s unpaved roads in May 2009. The matter was tabled, and mostly ignored, until litigation commenced in October 2010. A few weeks before the lawsuit was filed, the family also requested permission to build a wheelchair-accessible ramp leading to the front door of the house.

Taxpayer's section 1983 suit against a county for violation of the Establishment Clause

Glassman v. Arlington County, 10-1496, concerned a challenge to the district court's grant of defendants' motion to dismiss, in a taxpayer's 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit against a county, Commonwealth of Virginia, a church, and a developer, claiming that the county's involvement in the church's development of apartments on the church-owned parcel of land violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Petition for review of the State of Maryland Department of the Environment's denial of a request for water quality certification, involving a proposed large-scale liquefied natural gas marine import terminal and pipeline project, is denied where: 1) Maryland waived any potential claim of sovereign immunity in connection with the present petition for review by expressly consenting to defending, in federal court, its decision to deny AES's Request for section 401(a)(1) Water Quality Certification; and 2) AES failed to establish any basis to disturb the Army Corps of Engineers' determination that Maryland had not waived its right to grant or deny AES's section 401(a)(1) Certification Request. 

Read AES Sparrows Point LNG, LLC v. WIlson, No. 09-1539

Appellate Information

Argued: September 24, 2009

Decided: December 22, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Circuit Judge  Hamilton

Counsel

For Appellant:  Jeffrey A. Lamken, Baker Botts LLP

For Appellee:   Adam Dean Snyder, Office of the Attorney General of Maryland

In a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) action alleging that Defendant charged Plaintiffs title insurance rates higher than the rates Defendant had on file with the state insurance commissioner, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where RESPA does not control the prices charged for title insurance.

Read Arthur v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., No. 08-1727.

Appellate Information:

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Andre M. Davis, District Judge. (1:07-cv-01737-AMD)
Argued: May 12, 2009
Decided: June 18, 2009

Judges:

Before WILKINSON and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Opinioin by Judge Wilkinson.

Counsel:

ARGUED: Philip Scott Friedman, FRIEDMAN LAW OFFICES, PLLC, Washington, D.C., for Appellants. Darryl J. May, BALLARD, SPAHR, ANDREWS & INGERSOLL, LLP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Appellee.

ON BRIEF: Martin E. Wolf, Richard S. Gordon, Benjamin H. Carney, QUINN, GORDON & WOLF, CHTD., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants. Robert A. Scott, Lisa M. Welsh, BALLARD, SPAHR, ANDREWS & INGERSOLL, LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.