It has long been the law in Maryland that the owner of a domestic animal with knowledge that the animal has a propensity to cause a particular harm (commonly called in legal terms a “vicious propensity”) is strictly liable if that animal causes that harm to another. A pet owner can also be responsible, even if the animal has shown …

Most of us think that when we enter the property of a business establishment we have a right to rely upon the owner to have taken reasonably good care of the property, and if we are injured by some defect may think we have a good claim against the owner. Maryland law has long held that the answer to whether …

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court decided an important case for those of us who practice civil litigation, or who are involved in civil suits for money damages. In Phillip Morris USA v. Williams Estate, a case from Oregon, the Supreme Court overturned a $79.5 million award of punitive damages against a tobacco company. That opinion raises the question of …

In this day and age, many parents and child rearing experts believe that spanking or other corporal punishment of children should never be allowed, while others take the more traditional approach. The Maryland courts have ruled that there is such a thing as reasonable corporal punishment, but Departments of Social Services who investigate claims of child abuse struggle with defining …