Special Appeals

Maryland's second-highest court resolves hundreds of disputes a year - on issues ranging from whether companies really have to pay millions to wronged customers or whether a convicted murderer deserves a new trial. But the resolution of those cases is not usually made widely available to the public. Nine out of every 10 opinions from the Court of Special Appeals are labeled "unreported," virtually closed off from public scrutiny and never bound in legal volumes. Google and more powerful legal search engines won't turn up the opinions either - even when the name of a company or defendant is instantly recognizable.

Md.'s highest court is asked to hear tower case 1 After encountering a legal setback in July, the developer of a proposed 23-story mixed-use tower in downtown Columbia has asked the state's highest court to hear the case. WCI Communities Inc. requested that the Court of Appeals review a decision by the Court of Special Appeals reversing a string of technical victories for the firm. The Court of Special Appeals ordered the case's return to the Howard County Board of Appeals for a full hearing on the dispute's merits.

Teen doesn't take plea in deaths of his family The deadline for filing a motion that a Cockeysville teenager accused of killing his parents and younger brothers is not criminally responsible for the deaths came and went yesterday without any paperwork being filed by lawyers representing Nicholas W. Browning. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger set yesterday as the deadline for defense attorneys to file a motion of their intent to argue that the 16-year-old is not criminally responsible - Maryland's equivalent of an insanity plea - in the fatal shootings of his family.

The state's second-highest court has struck down a key portion of a lower-court ruling in a controversial impact-fee lawsuit against Anne Arundel County, potentially lowering the county's refund to Odenton homebuyers of $4.7 million plus interest by more than half, the county's top attorney said. That interpretation differs wildly from that of the plaintiffs' attorneys, who believe the Court of Special Appeals found in their favor and estimate that the award could be as high as $23.2 million.

The plight of Kwaku Atta Poku, the Columbia man who lost his house despite making every mortgage payment, has inspired a General Assembly bill that seeks to give homeowners like him a better chance in court. "When I heard that Mr. Atta Poku really never got a chance to make his case - never got to the substance - that sounded like a real injustice," said Del. Elizabeth Bobo, a Democrat who represents the area of Columbia where the taxi company owner's former house is located. Four years after refinancing his mortgage, Atta Poku lost his home to foreclosure in 2005.

WCI Communities Inc. has returned deposits to everyone with reservations for its Plaza Residences - the 23-story tower planned near the Columbia lakefront - while keeping the reservations intact, the company said in a statement this week. "We appreciate their patience as we look forward to the continued successful development of the Plaza Residences," Robert H. Grabner Jr., vice president/senior project manager of the tower division of WCI Mid-Atlantic U.S. Region Inc., said in a statement.

Courts Krauser named to lead appeals courts Judge Peter B. Krauser, a seven-year member of the Court of Special Appeals and a former federal prosecutor, will take over as chief judge of the state's second-highest court, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday. Krauser will replace Chief Judge John G. Murphy, whom O'Malley appointed this week to the Court of Appeals, Maryland's highest court. A graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Krauser will be responsible for assigning cases, ruling on motions for injunctions pending appeal and other tasks.

Loyola College, which has been locked in a lengthy dispute over its proposal for a retreat center in northern Baltimore County, should receive approval for the project, the state Court of Special Appeals decided this week. The ruling reverses a decision by a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge, who sided with Parkton-area residents opposed to building the retreat center in an area designated for agriculture. A lawyer for the group that objects to the retreat center said he will ask the state's highest court to review the appellate decision, which was issued Wednesday.

Gov. Martin O'Malley nominated appellate Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr. to Maryland's Court of Appeals yesterday, using his first opportunity to make over the state's highest court by choosing a jurist known for his depth of experience and moderate temperament. Murphy, chief judge of the state's second-highest court, would fill the vacancy created by the mandatory retirement of Judge Alan M. Wilner, who left the bench this year. Age limits on the court will give O'Malley two more opportunities to fill vacancies on the seven-member Court of Appeals in the coming months.

Neighbors do not have the authority to stop property owners from building a 610-foot pier and bridge, the state's highest court ruled unanimously yesterday, dealing a decisive blow to a Severna Park community association. The Court of Appeals upheld a February ruling by the Court of Special Appeals, which found that Paul and Joan Gunby had the right to expect access to a Severn River cove, and that it had never been expressly denied. The case is expected to return to Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, which had sided with Olde Severna Park Improvement Association Inc., for a ruling on the issuance of a state license to allow the 410-foot bridge and connecting 200-foot pier.