On the Record

By: Brendan Kearney

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington aren’t the only ones who missed a round of U.S. Open golf Thursday at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y.

But former Bethpage manager Neal E. Trabich, whose golf course development ventures bankrolled by a pair of Maryland investors have him ensnared in a handful of civil lawsuits here and in New York, was kept away by more than a few pesky raindrops. Trabich is serving a four-month prison sentence for bribing a Suffolk County legislator to steer another lucrative golf course operation deal his way.

Meanwhile, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, far away from those soggy greens in Long Island, the Maryland investors’ attorney, Steven B. Gould, and one of Trabich’s former attorneys, Andrew Radding, continue to argue — heatedly, in court papers — over sanctions stemming from a deposition in which Trabich’s wife improperly invoked spousal privilege. In addition to an attorney fee award (potentially, $14,000) against Mrs. Trabich, Gould wants Radding’s firm to pony up for telling her that the privilege might be available to her.

By: Danny Jacobs

The Golf Fore Heart charity tournament has grown steadily in its first two years, raising $30,000 in 2007 and $51,000 in 2008. The fundraiser is just hitting its stride, so I was curious as to how the current economy is affecting plans for the third tournament, scheduled for June 17 at Mountain Branch Golf Cub in Joppa. (Proceeds benefit the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication  — SHAPE – and several local charities.)

Perhaps not surprisingly, the economy “was a worry and has proven to be an issue,” according to JoAnne Zawitoski, the event’s founder. “It’s going to be a challenge this year.”

Zawitoski, of Semmes, Bowen & Semmes, said some people and businesses want to participate but have already exhausted their charity budget – if they had a charity budget at all this year. Others have dropped down a sponsorhip level.

Zawitoski said she and other event organizers will be making “personal appeals” as June 17 draws closer.

“I’m hoping to have as good a turnout as last year,” she said, adding she anticipates the event raising “a little less” than it did in 2008.

Despite the economy, Zawitoski said the cause has made strides. SHAPE helped pass new legislation in Texas that would require insurance companies to pay for heart scans of people at risk for heart disease, and President Barack Obama has made improved preventive care a priority.

“We think this is a good year for heart attack prevention measures in state legislatures,” she said.

By: Barbara Grzincic

What effect will the Supreme Court’s ruling on drug-label warnings, Wyeth v. Levine, have in the state’s trial courts? While it will undoubtedly move cases forward, lawyers in Maryland don’t expect a flood of new litigation. As one noted, “There hasn’t been this huge holding back” by trial lawyers here.

MICPEL, already struggling with the economy, faces a new hurdle: replacing its longtime executive director, Brent Burry, who will return to his native South Carolina next month.

In other news:

• Med-mal defense litigators at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston will be leaving for Hodes, Pessin & Katz in the coming weeks;
• The top court dismissed Bar Counsel’s action against a Tydings partner who billed the firm for the fair market value of flights he purchased with frequent-flier miles;
• Bankruptcy lawyers continue to switch firms — and some have formed a new Annapolis boutique firm;
• Investors suing golf-course developer Neal Trabich haled both him and his former attorney into court in a discovery dispute. (The judge found no fault with the “experienced, highly talented and widely respected” Andrew Radding, but withheld judgment on Trabich); and
• The new U.S. Attorney General, Eric H. Holder Jr., was in Baltimore on Friday to address the National District Attorneys Association’s board of directors.

In Verdicts and Settlements, a former tenant was awarded $10,000 in attorneys’ fees for defending against retaliatory back-rent suits by her landlord. (Also, see this story about the settlement of a suit between rival car dealerships.)

Three years out of school, Alicia N. Ritchie may be a young lawyer, but she’s already an old hand at pro bono representation.

In Opinion/Commentary, Our Editorial Advisory Board looks at the shadow banking industry, while DLA Piper’s Jack Machen outlines what’s right and what’s wrong with Baltimore’s green-building ordinance.

PLUS: On the Move, Briefs/Week in Review and our weekly Law Digest of cases from the Maryland appellate courts and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

By: jackie.sauter

“The most famous 17-hole championship golf course in the country” is not a title you want to use in an advertising campaign. But it’s how The New York Times accurately described the internationally known Winged Foot Golf Club in upstate New York, after one of the holes was determined off-limits.

A state Supreme Court judge issued a temporary restraining order banning play on sixth hole of the club’s East Course after a man whose house abuts the par 3’s putting green sued the because errant golf balls were a threat to his family.

Anthony Pecora moved into the house in 2003. The club cut down several trees between the sixth hole and his house in 2006; since then, he’s suffered $14,000 in damages, including five broken windows this year alone, The New York Times reported. Pecora also had to pay more than $3,300 for emergency surgery after his dog ate a golf ball last year, his lawyer told the Times.

Members, including Donald Trump, are none too happy about the re-designed course. One member stated what seems to me to be the obvious: “If you buy a house on a golf course, you have to assume there may be a couple of errant shots that are going to land in your yard.”

For analysis of the lawsuit, check out the great Norman Chad’s most recent column. Fore!

DANNY JACOBS, Legal Affairs Writer 

By: jackie.sauter

There’s only one way to start an article about a golfer in Florida charged with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird after hitting the bird with a golf ball, and Sarah Lundy of the Orlando Sentinel aced it. So here is the top of her story on the Sentinel’s Web site:

“Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour took aim with his golf club and shot a birdie at Grand Cypress Golf Club. Well, it was actually a red-shouldered hawk with an annoying call.”

Isenhour, 39, was in the midst of his speaking part for an instructional video on Dec. 12 when, about 300 yards away, the hawk got so loud it disrupted filming at least twice, according to the story.

So, Isenhour did what any guy would do: he drove a golf cart over to the tree where the hawk was perched and hit golf balls toward the bird, Lundy reported.

The bird flew away, landed in a tree about 75 yards from the filming site, and Isenhour again started hitting golf balls toward the bird, Lundy wrote.

Only this time Isenhour did what most guys cannot do: he hit it. The bird fell 30 feet and died soon after, Lundy reported.

Now, I know what all of the golfers reading this are thinking, and the answer is no — I don’t know Isenhour’s club selection. But Isenhour could face up to a $10,000 fine for his shot, Lundy reported.

If I were Isenhour’s lawyer, I would launch what I have just dubbed the “Randy Johnson Defense,” named after the baseball pitcher who hit a bird during a 2001 spring training game.

Then again, Johnson’s incident was accidental and it appears Isenhour’s was premeditated. The golfer might have a tough time crying fowl in front of a judge or jury.

Click to hear the sound of a red-shouldered hawk.

DANNY JACOBS, Legal Affairs Writer

By: jackie.sauter

• Warren Brown, the owner of CakeLove bakeries (with an upcoming Canton location) who we recently profiled for his environmental practices, is facing new competition. The (Washington) Examiner reports that “cupcake wars” began with the recent opening of Georgetown Cupcake. Apparently, employees at G.C. say they’ve sold more than 1,000 cupcakes a day at $2.75 a pop. You have to wonder how many bakeries the sweets market can bear…

• Is recreational golf a dying industry? Our sister publication in Long Island and the NY Times each examined the declining popularity of the corporate leisure activity.

• MoCo Council President Mike Knapp explains the county’s new gender identity law, which aims to protect the rights of transgender citizens. The crux? “Some people are confused about the effect of this new law on … the use of a public bathroom or locker room,” said Knapp. “Nothing is any different than it was before. People can feel safe and confident that they can walk into the restroom. Their safety is as protected as it ever was.” Whew.

• Paul Gordon at Maryland Politics Watch writes about the “blurring of the line between civil marriage and religious marriage” in last year’s legislative debate on the Orthodox Jewish divorce law. He points out one opponent of said law, Sen. Anthony Muse (Democrat-Prince George’s), who, he says, is a “pivotal committee vote on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act” now up for debate.

• For our attorney readers: how would you feel if your nomination to become a federal judge was publicly protested by a former inmate?

JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor

By: jackie.sauter

Maryland golf courses just aren’t up to par, according to GOLF magazine’s new ranking of the top 100 courses in the U.S.

The highest-ranked golf course in the area was the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, which narrowly missed landing in the top half at No. 51. Its 2005 rank was No. 45.

The top rated-rated course in the Baltimore area was Baltimore Country Club in Timonium. But its rating fell drastically, to No. 84 from No. 63 in 2005.

New Jersey’s Pine Valley course held onto its top spot, and courses in New York and Pennsylvania were well represented in the top 10.

So how about it, golfers — are metropolitan-area courses just not up to snuff? Did the magazine miss excellent courses in the state?

Thanks to our sister blog in Long Island for tipping us off.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor