2008 News:

Jury Finds Fraud Committed by Major Home Mortgage Lender:
Kimberly Thomas v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. 279370

     On July 31, 2008, after four days of trial, a Montgomery County jury entered a $1,250,000 verdict against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., finding that Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. committed fraud against the home mortgage borrower, Plaintiff Kimberly Thomas.


Tenant Liable for Breaching Commercial Lease, Including Attorneys’ Fees:
Hutzell Investments, LLC v. Ronald L. Layman, Case No. 1101-0003588-2007

     On September 6, 2007, Plaintiff filed its Complaint in the District Court of Maryland for Frederick County against Defendant Ronald L. Layman for breach of the payment terms of a commercial lease. On June 2, 2008, a merit trial took place before Judge Cejka, Jr. Upon receiving testimony, Judge Cejka, Jr. entered judgment in Plaintiff’s favor against Defendant Layman in the amount of $25,461.08, which included $4,945.82 in attorneys’ fees incurred by Plaintiff in the matter.


Fraud by Major Car Dealer in Montgomery County:
James v. Sheehy Ford of Gaithersburg, L.C., Case No. 271608-V

     At the conclusion of a five-day jury trial, a Montgomery County jury awarded plaintiff $414,000 in compensatory damages for violations of Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act and Automotive Repair Facilities Act by the defendant, Sheehy Ford of Gaithersburg, L.C. Under both the Consumer Protection Act and Automotive Repair Facilities Act, the jury awarded Ms. James $7,000 in economic damages, for the value of her vehicle, and $200,000 in non-economic damages for the psychological and emotional turmoil which plaintiff experienced due to defendant’s fraud. Subsequently, the Court determined that the verdicts under the two statutes were duplicative and consolidated the two judgments into one judgment for $207,000. As reflected by the verdict, the jury determined that the defendant had committed fraud against Ms. James in relation to repairs it performed on her vehicle and that, as a result of the defendant’s fraud, Ms. James spent the next two years of her life unknowingly attempting to repair a car that could not be repaired. The Court recently awarded more than $78,000 in attorneys’ fees under the Consumer Protection Act, bringing the total judgment to more than $285,000. This case was tried before the jury by Brian Maul.


2007 News:

     In November 2007, after a five-day jury trial in Montgomery County, Brian obtained a $207,000 verdict in his client’s favor under the Consumer Protection Act against Sheehy Ford of Gaithersburg, L.C. Earlier that same year, he also obtained two, separate attorney malpractice verdicts totaling over $400,000 against an attorney for that attorney’s negligent handling of the clients’ employment discrimination claims against the United States Postal Service. In the Fall of 2006, Roger and Brian worked together on behalf of multiple shareholders in order to obtain a $3.2M settlement for their clients.

     Brian currently has numerous cases pending in both state and federal courts involving allegations of employment discrimination and wrongful termination; breaches of fiduciary duties by corporate officers; breaches of escrow agreements in the amount of $750,000 by a major bank; landlord/tenant disputes; fraud against a consumer by a major mortgage lender; and others.