Author: JGL Law

Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore signed HB 16 into law May 16, 2023. This necessary bill is also known as the Hear Our Voices Act.

The bill requires K12 public schools to provide students, faculty, staff, and parents with the following information: (1) who serves as the Title IX coordinator for the school; (2) the process in place for filing a sexual misconduct complaint; and (3) the support measures that are in place for an individual who files a sexual misconduct complaint and how to access those support measures.

This bill is necessary because Title IX, which is federal legislation, contains few requirements that schools must comply with regarding sexual misconduct complaints. In fact, how a school addresses Title IX sexual misconduct complaints is determined by each individual school. As a result, there is no uniformity across the State regarding the process/procedures. Hopefully, with this bill, students will now be equipped with information on how to report sexual misconduct and receive the necessary help they need after reporting.

The bill was sponsored by Delegate J. Lewis and is based in part upon Associate Virginia Grimm’s law school paper detailing Title IX sexual misconduct processes in Maryland and its shortcomings. Virginia Grimm is now an associate at Joseph Greenwald and Laake PA’s Greenbelt office.

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May 13, 2023 – The Washington Post reported that U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte issued rulings allowing this Title IX, 1983 qualified immunity case against the Montgomery County School District to proceed to trial.

The case against the Montgomery County School District, has been brought by the victims and their families.  Although a trial date was not set, the case will go before jurors in February if prior settlement cannot be reached. JGL partners Tim Maloney and Matthew Bryant, and Senior Counsel Alyse Prawde represent one of the families.

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A civil jury in Anne Arundel County, MD awarded $8.5 million in damages to a Maryland woman who sued her former boyfriend for infecting her with genital herpes (HSV-2) after not being truthful about his own exposure to herpes. The woman is identified in court papers only as Jane Doe to protect her privacy. She sued her former boyfriend, Annapolis businessman Kim Sharps, alleging he misled her about his own genital herpes and his exposure to prior partners who also had genital herpes.

The case was tried for two days in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in Annapolis before Judge Richard R. Trunnell. Mr. Sharps was represented at trial by attorney Eric Haversack of Annapolis, MD.

The jury deliberated for nearly two hours on Thursday, May 11, 2023 before finding in favor of the Jane Doe plaintiff on counts of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud. The jury’s monetary award against Sharps was for compensatory damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the herpes infection.

Ms. Doe was represented by Timothy F. Maloney and Gary A. Mitchell II of the law firm Joseph, Greenwald, and Laake, PA in Greenbelt, MD. Mr. Maloney said “This verdict should send a strong message about personal responsibility. Persons who knowingly expose a partner to infectious diseases can be liable for significant damages. Everyone has a duty to use reasonable precautions and to warn their partners about prior exposures to sexually transmitted infections.”

Successfully obtained a judgment at the conclusion of a bench trial against a former trustee for $757,070.04 based on the trustee’s failure to account for his use of trust property and successfully defended the judgment on appeal.

The appellate decision is available here (PDF).

Jeffrey Greenblatt and David Bulitt were featured in the FACES of Bethesda Magazine 2023 presented by MoCo360 Media.

Jeffrey was recognized as “The Face of High-Stakes Divorce Cases” (PDF) and David was highlighted as “The Face of A Top Divorce Lawyer and Author” (PDF).

The Fourth Circuit Court affirmed the District Court’s decision denying Schuster’s Rule 40(b) motion and upholding JGL’s $1.2 Million jury verdict on unjust enrichment in the Schuster class action case on Friday, April 21, 2023.

The JGL team representing the Appellant/Cross-Appellees included JGL partners Steven Michael Pavsner, Erika Jacobsen White, and Brian J. Markovitz. You may read the Order Affirming Judgment here (PDF). For more information regarding the underlying case click here.

David Bulitt received a Leaders in Law award in Alternative Dispute Resolution at an award dinner held on April 24, 2023.

The event is sponsored by The Daily Record and the Maryland State Bar Association.

Partners Timothy F. Maloney and Matthew M. Bryant were quoted in Maryland The Daily Record article “Contractor sues over extortion by Baltimore police sergeant, says BPD failed to prevent civil rights violations.”

“A home contractor from Montgomery County who was threatened with arrest if he did not pay back a Baltimore police sergeant in a dispute over a patio project filed a lawsuit claiming the city’s police department did not do enough to stop its officers from committing civil rights violations.

The lawsuit, which was recently transferred to federal circuit from Baltimore City Circuit Court, claims the police department’s internal culture emboldened Sgt. James Lloyd to extort the contractor, Luis Alfonso Torres Hernandez.”

Mr. Maloney and Mr. Bryant are representing Mr. Torres Hernandez, along with Bobby Zirkin of Zirkin & Schmerling Law, LLC.

Click here to read the article (PDF)

Three senior Adobe managers came to JGL principal Jay Holland to file a Qui Tam case regarding alleged illegal kickbacks to subcontractors to obtain government business.

Read about the case here.

In a victory for survivors of sexual abuse in Maryland, Governor Wes Moore signed legislation this week that greatly expands the rights of victims of childhood sexual assault. The Child Victims Act of 2023 eliminates the statute of limitations, or time limit, that survivors of childhood sexual abuse have to bring a lawsuit.

Current Maryland law limits survivors from filing suit after the age of 38. Significantly, the law is retroactive with no time limit, so survivors who were previously barred from filing suit now have access to justice.

Although the Child Victims Act opens the halls of justice to survivors, the bill includes damages caps of $1,500,000 against private entities and $890,000 to a single claimant against public entities. The law goes into effect on October 1, 2023.

The law was signed less than a week after the Maryland Attorney General released a report detailing more than 150 Catholic priests associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore who have been accused of abusing over 600 children.

Further, HB16, the Hear Our Voices Act has also gone to the Governor’s desk for signature.  The Hear Our Voices Act would require public schools to provide information regarding the process for filing complaints of sexual misconduct and to identify to survivors how to access support. If signed, the act will take effect July 1, 2023. This is an important step by the Maryland General Assembly in reinstituting important Title IX protections that have recently been eroded under federal law.

Erika Jacobsen White and Drew LaFramboise represent survivors of sexual abuse and lead JGL’s sexual abuse and Title IX litigation practice. For more information please contact.

Three senior Adobe managers came to JGL Partner Jay Holland to bring a qui tam case against Adobe for using illegal kickbacks to subcontractors to obtain government business.

The matter settled for $3,000,000.00 on April 14th. You may read the Department of Justice’s press release here.

Reza Golesorkhi was interviewed by Modern Luxury DC Magazine.

The article entitled “Conversations with Top Divorce Attorney Reza Golesorkhi” was featured in the April 2023 edition.