MacGomery Law

Archive for August, 2009

For sure, car insurance and car insurance companies are a necessary evil. You would be foolish, and in this state illegal, to operate a motor vehicle without insurance. In the event of an accident, and in particular a major accident, you need the insurance coverage to pay for your property damage to your car and to compensate you for your injuries and lost time from work. But make no mistake about it, insurance companies exist to make money, a profit. And the primary way of doing so is to take in premiums and limit how much they have to pay out. This means that at the very time you need them, you may find yourself fighting with them to get what you deserve.
I recently had a client who was struck by another driver. It was very clear that the other driver was responsible. But a few days after the accident, the adverse driver’s insurance company sent my client a very small check for what she understood was to replace her child’s car seat. On the bottom of the check they included the phrase “Payment in Full for Bodily Injury Claim”. Now, my client had not even filed a bodily injury claim at that point. Nevertheless, when she did hire an attorney to file such a claim, the insurance company pointed to that first check and told her that in cashing the check she was relinquishing all further claims. In other words, they were trying to take advantage of her. Unfortunately, her first lawyer did not understand this and dropped the case. I was able to restart the claim and succeeded in getting her the full value of her claim.
So the next time you hear you are in good hands with…, or we’re on your side…, remember, they are in the business of making money. Hopefully your interests will align with theirs and everyone will be happy. If not, that’s when you need an attorney.

The question is obviously highly political. But it is about to come to a head here in Maryland as we await a legal opinion from Attorney General Doug Gansler as to whether or not under Maryland law same sex marriages that are legal in other states can be recognized here in Maryland. Same sex marriages themselves are not permitted in Maryland but are in several other states (currently Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and Maine, as well as the roughly 18,000 same-sex marriages that are legally recognized in California). Governor Martin O’Malley (D) is apparently leaning towards recognizing such marriages. The District of Columbia already recognizes out-of-state same sex marriages while Virginia has yet to weigh in on the issue.

Regardless of how you feel personally, it is a fascinating legal argument full of due process and equal protection issues as well as the obvious argument concerning full faith and credit.

For the record, not that anyone cares, I support both same-sex marriage and recognition of out-of-state same sex marriages. I wrote on the subject in law school and have followed the debate closely as various states struggle with the question. What I have determined, and you may come to a different opinion, is that when all is said and done, the real reason for reserving the institution of marriage to the heterosexual community is because they/we want the word and it’s meaning to themselves/ourselves. You can have the same thing, just call it by a different name – civil union. Governor O’Malley supports civil unions in this state rather than same-sex marriages. Even the state’s highest court, in the seminal case of Conaway v. Deane, 401 Md. 219, 932 A.2d 571 (Md. App., 2007) articulated that belief in the final sentence of their conclusion in the 4-3 decision upholding the ban on same-sex marriages by saying “In declaring that the State’s legitimate interests in fostering procreation and encouraging the traditional family structure in which children are born are related reasonably to the means employed by Family Law § 2-201, our opinion should by no means be read to imply that the General Assembly may not grant and recognize for homosexual persons civil unions or the right to marry a person of the same sex.”

So what we are fighting over is the interest in fostering procreation and encouraging family values. It seems to me that we in the heterosexual community are doing a pretty good job of screwing those objectives up without any help from the state. When more than half of the marriages in this state end up in divorce, when a vast number of folks are divorced multiple times, when many chose to marry and not have children, or have children outside of marriage, or end up spending years screwing up their kids lives in broken marriages – I ask just exactly what are we holding onto?

If you are interested in sending a message to Attorney General Doug Gansler in support of the recognition of out-of-state same sex marriages, go to can sign a petition here and view a sample letter.

Frequently clients ask if they can change their name back to their maiden name or even that of a previous marriage when they get divorced. The short answer is most likely yes. Under the Family Law article of the Maryland Code §7-105, if you are seeking a divorce you may change your name back to either your name given at birth or any previous former name as long as 1) the party took the name on in marriage and no longer wants to use it; 2) the party asks for the name change; and 3) the purpose of the name change is not for illegal, fraudulent or immoral purposes. This means that the name you are changing must have been taken on by the marriage you now seek to dissolve. Further, you (or your lawyer) must ask the court to change your name in your Complaint for Absolute Divorce – which is the document that initiates the divorce action. And finally, you must certify to the court, usually through your testimony, that your reason for changing your name is not for purposes of committing an illegal act, or fraud, or for immoral purposes. Although changing one’s name during a divorce is relatively uncomplicated, it is often one aspect of the divorce that carries a lot of emotional baggage.

For more information on changing your name at the time of your divorce, contact a qualified family law attorney. If you need help finding one, the local county bar association can assist you.

I am struck by the fact that the two most recent appointments to the judicial bench, at least to me and my little practice, have been powerful women. At the national level, Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn in this Saturday as the Supreme Court’s 111th justice, third woman and first nominee by a Democrat in 15 years. I was not practicing law when the previous two women were appointed to the Supreme Court so it has been interesting for me now to follow the nomination and confirmation of Judge Sotomayor. More locally, Judge Cynthia (Cindy) Callahan was sworn in on June 29th as the newest member of the bench of the Montgomery County Circuit Court.

For Judge Sotomayor, it was Princeton, Yale, NY County District Attorney’s office, private civil practice, informal solo practice, lots of public service, and then the federal bench. Judge Callahan started at St. Mary’s College, Columbus School of Law Catholic University (my alma mater), private practice, partner in ten years, solo practice, managing partner for Dragga, Callahan, Hannon, Hessler & Wills, LLP, and lots of public service.

Two very powerful women. Two very interesting careers. Two intriguing stories to follow…