Opinion ID: 2681015
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: appellees’ motion to dismiss the appeal

Text: Appellees included in their brief a Motion to Dismiss certain arguments mounted in the State Agencies’ appeal on the basis, provided in Maryland Rule 8-602(a)(1), that the arguments are not permitted by the Maryland Rules or other law. Appellees moved to dismiss “portions” of the Appellants’ Brief that are directed to questions that “(a) are not included in the writ of certiorari; (b) are not certworthy; and (c) were not presented to and/or decided by the [C]ircuit [C]ourt.” Specifically, Appellees argued that the Court should not entertain three arguments—(1) laches; (2) lack of a private right of action; and (3) lack of privity of contract—which the State Agencies raised in their brief, but which were not contained in their Petition for, or the Writ of, Certiorari. In response, the State Agencies averred that Appellees failed to assert any ground upon which this Court is authorized to dismiss an appeal, pursuant to Rule 8-602(a) and, therefore, the Motion should be denied. We shall deny Appellees’ Motion to Dismiss. The alleged shortcomings (that certain arguments were unpreserved and/or not presented properly in the Petition for Writ of Certiorari) are not proper grounds for the dismissal of an appeal, as provided by Maryland Rule 8-602(a). Instead, the points advanced in the Motion to Dismiss are addressed by Maryland Rule 8-131, which provides the proper context for our appellate review and governs the manner in which this Court deals with alleged arguments that are unpreserved and not presented properly 24 in the grant of the Writ of Certiorari. As will be seen after examining these rules, the proper scope of our appellate review under Rule 8-131 is not co-extensive with the bases for granting a motion to dismiss, as provided in Rule 8-602. Thus, although Maryland Rule 8-131 states explicitly that it limits the Court’s jurisdiction, a motion to dismiss is not the proper method to ask this Court not to address an assertedly unpreserved or improperly presented argument. Maryland Rule 8-602(a) governs the grounds for which this Court may dismiss an appeal. It provides: On motion or on its own initiative, the Court may dismiss an appeal for any of the following reasons: (1) the appeal is not allowed by these rules or other law; (2) the appeal was not properly taken pursuant to Rule 8-201; (3) the notice of appeal was not filed with the lower court within the time prescribed by Rule 8-202; (4) the appellant has failed to comply with the requirements of Rule 8-205; (5) the record was not transmitted within the time prescribed by Rule 8-412, unless the court finds that the failure to transmit the record was caused by the act or omission of a judge, a clerk of court, the court reporter, or the appellee; (6) the contents of the record do not comply with Rule 8-413; (7) a brief or record extract was not filed by the appellant within the time prescribed by Rule 8-502; (8) the style, contents, size, format, legibility, or method of reproduction of a brief, appendix, or record extract does not comply with Rules 8-112, 8-501, 8-503, or 8-504; (9) the proper person was not substituted for the appellant pursuant to Rule 8-401; or (10) the case has become moot. 25 Md. Rule 8-602(a). 17 Neither a lack of preservation nor failure to present an argument in the petition for writ of certiorari is listed as a permissible ground upon which this Court may dismiss an appeal. 18 Instead of calling for dismissal of an unpreserved question or argument, the applicable Maryland Rules and our case law governing consideration of unpreserved issues and issues not raised in the petition for certiorari grant this Court the discretion to address the issue in its opinion. Specifically, Md. Rule 8-131(a) provides that, where an issue or argument was not preserved for appellate review, this Court possesses discretion whether to reach and resolve the matter. Moreover, Md. Rule 8-131(b) governs whether this Court will determine an issue or argument not raised in the petition for writ of certiorari or cross-petition. Because Appellees failed to allege any grounds that warrant dismissal of an appeal under Md. Rule 8-602(a), we deny Appellees’ Motion to Dismiss. Instead, we shall address, pursuant to the applicable Md. Rule 8-131, the State Agencies’ alleged failures 17 Maryland Rule 8-603(c) limits the possible grounds for a motion to dismiss included in an appellee’s brief to subsections (1), (2), (3), (9), or (10) of Md. Rule 8-602(a). 18 Even if the alleged shortcomings were listed as proper grounds for a motion to dismiss an appeal in this Court, whether to dismiss the appeal is within the discretion of the Court. See, e.g., Woods v. Constantine, 337 Md. 487, 489, 654 A.2d 885, 885 (1995) (recognizing that, because “Maryland Rule 8–602(a)(10) authorizes, rather than mandates the dismissal of a moot appeal,” the appellate courts “ha[ve] discretion to decide a question which has become moot” even though it may be subject to dismissal pursuant to Md. Rule 8-602) (citations omitted); Leavy v. Am. Fed. Sav. Bank, 136 Md. App. 181, 191, 764 A.2d 366, 371 (2000) (“Dismissal of an appeal, however, is a discretionary matter.”) (citations omitted). 26 (both to preserve all issues in the Circuit Court and to raise them properly in the Petition for Writ of Certiorari), and the propriety of addressing such issues on the record before us, at appropriate places in this opinion. 19