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Keywords

attorneylawyerappealtrialzoningcorporationcompliancejudicial review
attorneystatuteappealhearingtrialjudicial reviewappellee

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Turkey Point Property Owners’ Ass’n, Inc. v. Anderson, 106 Md.App. 710, 666 A.2d 904

Facts

The Turkey Point Property Owners' Association, Inc. (the Association) sought judicial review of a decision by the County Board of Appeals that allowed property owners Mildred P. Anderson and John C. Hoffman to rezone a portion of their waterfront property from Open Space to Residential. The Board also granted a variance for construction within a critical area buffer. The Association argued that the evidence did not support the rezoning or the variance and that the construction would violate restrictive covenants. However, the Association was represented in court by its president, a nonlawyer, which led to questions about the validity of the proceedings.

The Association was represented by counsel in the administrative proceedings that preceded the filing of the petition for judicial review in the trial court. The petition for review, however, was signed by the Association's president, Brenda DeLalla.

Issue

Did the Turkey Point Property Owners' Association have standing to appeal the Board of Appeals' decision, and was the petition for judicial review valid given that it was filed by a nonlawyer?

The Association was not represented in the trial court by an attorney admitted to practice law in Maryland, and the Association did not have standing to appeal the Board of Appeals decision.

Rule

Maryland Rule 2–131(a) requires that a corporation must be represented by an attorney in court, and a nonlawyer's representation renders the proceedings a nullity.

Except as otherwise provided by rule or statute: (1) an individual may enter an appearance by an attorney or in proper person and (2) a person other than an individual may enter an appearance only by an attorney.

Analysis

The court determined that the Association's petition was invalid because it was signed and filed by a nonlawyer, which is prohibited under Maryland law. The court emphasized that the requirement for legal representation is crucial to ensure competent and ethical advocacy in legal proceedings. Since the Association was not represented by a qualified attorney, the court found that the trial court erred in accepting the petition and allowing the nonlawyer to represent the Association.

The trial court therefore erred by accepting the petition for judicial review that Ms. DeLalla prepared and signed, and by permitting her to represent the Association at the hearing on the petition.

Conclusion

The Court of Special Appeals vacated the judgment of the trial court and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the Association's petition due to the lack of proper legal representation.

We hold that the petition was a nullity, as were the proceedings before the trial court.

Who won?

Mildred P. Anderson and John C. Hoffman prevailed because the court found that the Association's petition was invalid due to noncompliance with legal representation requirements.

We find merit in the first argument made by the appellees in their cross-appeal, and so we vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand the case to that court with instructions to dismiss.

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