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December, 2004 P r i v i l e g e d   I n f o r m a t i o n   Experience • Integrity • Dedication Dec 2004 Vol 5 Issue 1 • What's Happening at CB&T • Everyone at CB&T wishes you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a safe, happy, healthy New Year. • Have you registered your cell phone number with the Do Not Call Registry yet? Go to www.donotcall.gov • Coming Soon on our Web Site: Client Testimonials Disclosure Statement Did Not Fill in Cracks of Buyer's Allegations A Seller of a Carroll County home elected to complete the Maryland Residential Property Disclosure Statement, thereby disclosing to the Buyer a single incident, when a moisture stain appeared on a finished basement wall following a driving rain. Prior to the sale of the home central Maryland had been plagued by an extreme drought. Shortly after settlement, the drought subsided and the basement of the home subsequently flooded. The new homeowners sued the Seller alleging that because they experienced a wet basement soon after settlement, the Seller must have had water in the basement before the Contract was signed. According to Mr. Coover, under Maryland law, had the Seller made no disclosures whatsoever and simply signed the Disclaimer Statement attached to the Contract, the new Buyer would not have had legal recourse. Because the Seller signed the Disclosure Statement, however, the Buyer were able to legally allege that the water problems were not fully disclosed. Mr. Coover warns: "It is crucial for both Buyers and Sellers to have an attorney review their Contract before they sign. Realtors provide a valuable service to the parties, but those services are not a replacement for competent legal advice. In this market, there are virtually no circumstances when it would be appropriate for a Seller to sign a Disclosure Statement. It's a Seller's market - why take the risk? You are just buying yourself a lawsuit later." For an in depth look at this article, click here: Check Writers Beware! The Check 21 Act Ushers in a New Era of Check Writing. New federal banking rules will now affect just about everyone who owns a checking account. New "Check 21" regulations, short for the "Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act," will now eliminate check clearing delays caused by anything from severe weather to terrorism. This modernization act was passed shortly after the 9/11 attacks as a result of the disruption of commercial aviation. The most notable feature of this Act is that banks will be able to transmit and clear checks by electronic facsimile. This eliminates the need for banks to transport checks to the issuing bank via mail in order for them to clear. Most importantly, checks will clear much faster - sometimes within a matter of hours! This will effectively eliminate the "float" time or the informal grace period between writing a check and making it good. The banks, however, stand to be the real winners here. In addition to getting funds quicker, the potential for millions of dollars in bounced check fees is a real possibility, until the public adapts to the swift results of check writing in the 21st century era. For more info on our firm, click here: Tiedemann Wins Over Prince George's County Jury Steve Tiedemann just won big in a construction defect case tried before a jury in Prince George's County. The jury took little time to return the verdict in favor of Steve's client. Among the issues in the case were mold remediation, construction warranties, substantial medical claims, and extraordinary damages. Of the sixteen issues submitted to the jury, all sixteen were decided in favor of Coover & Barr, LLC's client. CB&T Defends General Contractor in North Pole Delay Claim A CB&T client is seeking payment for delays caused by unforeseen, cold weather conditions while building the runway at the North Pole Sleigh-Port, expansion Phase II. Due to the unjustified actions of the government's procurement elf, the client's delay claim has been denied. Although construction is still scheduled to be completed in time for the December 24 deadline, CB&T has filed for equitable adjustment under a little known (Santa)-clause in the contract. Of course, fingers are pointing and the mess will only clear after bond claims and related suits are completed. Although CB&T expects that their client will win, the entire staff expects some coal in our stockings!   COOVER, BARR &TIEDEMANN, LLC ATTORNEYS AT LAW (410) 995-1100 • (301) 621-5090 • (410) 997-7600 Email Us