Opinion ID: 2155853
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: There are genuine disputes as to the material facts of this case. Because we are examining the granting of a motion for summary judgment, we will examine the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving partyin the case sub judice, petitioners. Carrie Holmes and two of her children, Antonio Jones and Erika Jones, [5] moved to 1229 North Central Avenue, a two-story row house located on the east side of Baltimore City, sometime in 1984-85. [6] Carrie Holmes signed a written lease with Consumer Management, [7] which was managing the property for the Ben-Ezras, who had purchased the property in September of 1983. [8] Ms. Holmes testified that she inspected the property prior to moving in and that the property was in fair condition. There wasn't no chipped paint, no nothing. It was already painted nice and clean all the way through. [9] After moving into the row house, however, Ms. Holmes started to notice that the inside paint was peeling. [10] For example, as she would clean the walls, the paint would peel. She noticed problems with peeling paint in the dining room, the bedrooms, and the bathroom. Harry Holmes, the brother of Carrie Holmes, moved in with Ms. Holmes sometime shortly after she began her tenancy and lived with her for two years from approximately sometime in 1985 to 1987. Mr. Holmes testified that when he moved into 1229 North Central Avenue, there were problems with the row house. He stated that [i]t's a shack.... It was cold. It was holey, needed stucco, needed sanding, needed painting, needed windows, needed floors, needed doors, needed everything. Mr. Holmes also stated that the window paint was peeling. Antonio and Erika Jones were diagnosed with lead poisoning during 1986 while residing at 1229 North Central Avenue. [11] During a routine checkup on October 17, 1986, Antonio Jones had blood taken and the test results registered a 37 ug/dL. [12] Subsequent blood tests performed on Antonio Jones showed lead levels of 33 ug/dL on December 10, 1986, 34 ug/dL on January 20, 1987, 38 ug/dL on April 2, 1987, 32 ug/dL on March 11, 1988, 62 ug/dL on July 25, 1988, and 41 ug/dL on October 5, 1988. Erika Jones was also originally diagnosed during a routine checkup. Her blood showed lead levels of 25 ug/dL on October 17, 1986, 19 ug/dL on December 10, 1986, 28 ug/dL on April 2, 1987, 44 ug/dL on July 28, 1988, and 27 ug/dL on January 5, 1989. Carrie Holmes testified that the first time she called Consumer Management was one month before her children were diagnosed with lead poisoning. [13] She testified that she called the landlord [14] and told them to send me some paint and I didn't never get no paint. When questioned as to why she requested the paint, Ms. Holmes testified that I figured that the house needed painting. It had not been painted since I had been there. Ms. Holmes was told that Consumer Management does not give out paint. Once Ms. Holmes learned that her children had been diagnosed with lead poisoning, she once again called Consumer Management. She testified that she spoke to a woman at Consumer Management and she stated that [w]hen I called her, I told her my children had lead. She said she don't know how the children got it. I said they get tested from the clinic. That is how I knew my children had it. That is when I called the Health Department. Harry Holmes testified that while he was living at 1229 North Central Avenue, a man, he described as being drunk, came to the row house to paint. Mr. Holmes stated that this occurred in 1986 or 1987. He stated that a man showed up and [h]e just said that he was from maintenance, that is all. He was going to paint. Mr. Holmes testified that the man entered the house, scraped the walls for about an hour and then left, never to return. The Baltimore City Health Department first issued an Emergency Violation Notice and Order to Remove Lead Nuisance to Mr. Philip Hanson on February 25, 1988. [15] The notice cited thirty-three lead-based paint hazards both inside the row house and on the exterior. These included violations in the following rooms: second floor bathroom, second floor rear room, second floor middle room, second floor hall, second floor front room, stair treads and posts, kitchen, first floor middle room, first floor front room, and basement. A second code violation was issued for 1229 North Central Avenue in March of 1989 and it included other types of violations such as a defective wall in the kitchen, a defective wall in the stairway, a defective stairway, a defective wall in the bathroom, a floor covering in the bathroom that was not impervious to water, cracked window or glass in the front bedroom, a defective wall in the middle bedroom, and a defective ceiling in the dining room. Petitioners filed a Complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on May 5, 1994 against Mid-Atlantic Funding, Darius Funding, and Philip Hanson as the owners of the property at 1229 North Central Avenue. The Complaint set forth thirty counts, which included the same five counts for each minor plaintiff as to every defendant. The five counts alleged in the Complaint for each minor plaintiff were negligence, the mother's claims in her own right for deprivation of her child's services during minority, a Maryland Consumer Protection Act [16] claim, strict liability, and punitive damages. Petitioners filed an Amendment by Interlineation on June 27, 1994, which added counts thirty-one through forty and brought MD-A Funding, formerly Mid-Atlantic Funding, into the action. Petitioners filed a second Amendment by Interlineation on August 30, 1994, that added counts forty-one through fifty and made the same allegations against Peter and Julie Ben-Ezra. A third Amendment by Interlineation was filed on February 28, 1995, that added counts fifty-one through fifty-six and brought Consumer Management into the action. A fourth Amendment by Interlineation was filed on January 14, 1997, that added counts fifty-seven through sixty-two and brought BBG Management into the action. [17] Respondents, the Ben-Ezras, filed a Motion for Partial Dismissal as to counts forty-two, forty-four, forty-five, forty-seven, and forty-nine. The motion was granted on May 1, 1995 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and also included the dismissal of count fifty. The only counts remaining in the suit against the Ben-Ezras were the negligence and Consumer Protection Act counts. Respondent, Consumer Management filed a Motion to Dismiss counts fifty-two and fifty-five of the Complaint. This motion was granted by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on October 17, 1995. The only counts remaining in the suit against Consumer Management were the negligence and Consumer Protection Act counts. Respondent, Philip Hanson, filed a Motion to Dismiss on October 4, 1996. Mr. Hanson requested that counts twenty-two through twenty-five and twenty-seven through thirty (all of the counts except the negligence counts) be dismissed. [18] The Ben-Ezras filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on all remaining counts on October 10, 1996. The Ben-Ezras asserted that they did not receive notice of the existence of chipping, flaking or peeling lead-based paint and that because this fact, according to them, was not disputed, they should be granted summary judgment. Philip Hanson filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on October 23, 1996. Mr. Hanson alleged that there was no dispute of material fact, he was not negligent in his maintenance of 1229 North Central Avenue, and he had no knowledge of chipping or flaking paint in the premises. Consumer Management filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on October 23, 1996. Consumer Management asserted that there was no dispute of material fact and that Consumer Management did not have notice or knowledge of any lead-based paint at 1229 North Central Avenue. Petitioners filed a Response to all three Motions for Summary Judgment. A hearing was held on all open motions on December 4, 1996 before the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. At the hearing, petitioners submitted as to Mr. Hanson's Motion to Dismiss counts twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and thirty. The Circuit Court signed an order on December 11, 1996 granting that Motion to Dismiss. [19] The three Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Mr. Hanson, Consumer Management, and the Ben-Ezras were then argued. At the end of the hearing, the Circuit Court allowed petitioners fifteen days to file a response to Mr. Hanson's Reply to petitioners' Reply to the Motion for Summary Judgment. The Circuit Court, on December 5, 1996, signed an Order that granted Consumer Management's Motion for Summary Judgment on counts fifty-one and fifty-six. The Order also stated in a handwritten passage by the Circuit Court on the bottom of the Order that [i]t is further ordered that defendant's motion for judgment on the issue of negligence is denied as there are disputes regarding the material issues of notice and opportunity to cure. [20] After several pleadings were filed by both petitioners and Mr. Hanson regarding Mr. Hanson's Motion for Summary Judgment, the Circuit Court, with the Honorable John Carroll Byrnes presiding, held a second hearing on the three Motions for Summary Judgment. [21] The Circuit Court granted the three Motions for Summary Judgment, finding that the respondents had not received notice of the lead-based paint flaking, peeling, or chipping in the row house. The petitioners filed a Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment on October 15, 1997. This motion was denied by the Circuit Court. Petitioners filed a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Special Appeals on December 31, 1997. Petitioners were required to dismiss this first appeal because there had not been a final judgment in respect to BBG Management. At their request, the Circuit Court granted a dismissal, without prejudice, as to BBG Management, and petitioners filed a timely Notice of Appeal to the Court of Special Appeals on May 27, 1999. The opinion filed by the Court of Special Appeals on April 27, 2000, affirmed the decision of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granting the respondents' Motions for Summary Judgment. The Court of Special Appeals stated that [i]n sum, appellants [petitioners] failed to produce evidence sufficient to prove that appellees [respondents] knew or should have known of deteriorated paint at the Premises, and therefore, the trial judge was legally correct when he granted summary judgment in favor of the appellees. Petitioners filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari, which we granted.