Maryland Pharma Company Could Reap $500 Million in Damages for Breach of Licensing Agreement
A six-year battle over an anti-viral drug has ended in a victory for Annapolis, Maryland-based PharmAthene over Siga Technologies Inc. Now it is up to a judge to decide how much the winner should receive in damages. The calculation depends heavily on the legal theory the court relied on to…
One of Maryland’s Oldest Family-Owned Businesses Sold to Competitor
Southern Maryland Oil has purchased heating oil company Hein Bros., a family-owned business founded in 1921. Southern Maryland Oil will retain 14 Hein Bros.employees, though President Carl Hein and Vice President Frank Hein, the 80-year old brothers who have run the company, will leave, as will other family members. Southern…
Study Finds Parents and Adult Children at Odds on Estate Planning
Parents and their offspring often have different perspectives on everything from music to clothes to cellphone use. A new study suggests that the generation gap is alive and well in another area of estate planning. The 2014 Fidelity Investments Intra-Family Generational Finance Study showed that almost two-thirds of parents and…
Lawsuit Over Green Building Gets Green Light
A federal appeals court has allowed the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to move forward in its litigation against Weyerhaeuser Company over construction flaws at the Foundation's Annapolis headquarters. Two years ago, a lower court granted a summary judgment to Weyer haeuser on the grounds that the suit, filed almost ten years…
Software Developer Acquires Maryland Data Protection Company as Industry Battles Hackers
With hacking incidents on the rise, data protection has become a critically important area for companies worldwide. Gemalto NV's acquisition of Belcamp, Maryland's SafeNet Inc. is part of this ongoing trend. The Amsterdam-based company will pay $890 million for Safenet, which forecasts revenue of $370 million and profit from operations…
Bethesda Low-Rise Site Generates Towering Pile of Litigation
After several legal actions against a neighboring project in Bethesda, Greenhill Capital has proposed plans redevelop Woodmont Triangle. In a public meeting, the property-owner announced its intention to build a low-rise, retail-only "retrofit" on the site. But the project is contingent on the outcome of ongoing lawsuits. The site was…
Orioles Score a Run in TV Rights Lawsuit, But the Game Isn’t Over
The Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals are both in first place in their divisions, but the Orioles have taken the lead in their legal battle with the Nationals over?broadcast rights. A New York judge has temporarily blocked Major League Baseball (MLB) from giving the Nationals tens of millions of dollars…
Oculus VR Rejects ZeniMax Claims in Acrimonious Litigation
Virtual-reality startup Oculus VR has responded to a lawsuit by Rockville, Maryland-based ZeniMax Media Inc., owner of Bethesda Games Studios. In May, ZeniMax had sued Oculus, and its founder, Palmer Luckey, claiming that Oculus's key product, the "Oculus Rift" head-mounted virtual reality display, was based on stolen technology. In its…
Thousands of Security Clearances in Jeopardy Due to Tax Debts
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office stated that 83,000 Defense Department employees or contractors owed more than $730 million in unpaid taxes. Although not paying taxes does not prevent an individual from obtaining a security clearance, these individuals are considered more risky and could prevent the granting of…
New Maryland Trust Act Incorporates Uniform Trust Code
The Maryland legislature recently revised a key area of Maryland's estate planning laws, enacting a version of the "Uniform Trust Code. Maryland's Trust Act won't go into effect until January 1, 2015, but when it does, the state will be one of thirty that follow the same standard, with some…
Sale of Building Stymied by Age-Old Covenant
Frederick County would like to sell the former Citizens Care and Rehabilitation Center and Montevue Assisted Living facilities, while a group of concerned citizens has sued to stop them. A Frederick County judge has ruled that the dispute must be decided by a jury at trial. At issue: A 186-year-old…
More Women Serving on Maryland Corporate Boards
Maryland has more women in corporate boardrooms that ever before. That's one of the findings of the 2014 Census of Women Board Directors in Maryland, conducted by Network 2000 Inc. The survey showed that in 2013, 86 board of director positions were held by women, compared to 73 in 2012.…
