Instructions
In Part I, provide statutory summaries in paragraph form using plain English. The summaries will be included in materials Bernie gives to clients and potential clients who are unfamiliar with legal vocabulary, concepts, and procedures. Use the outlines you created in Week 6 to help draft your summaries and check that they are accurate and complete.
In Part II, apply the statute to the fact patterns that Bernie prepared for the project. You will analyze the elements of the statute, evaluate whether the hypothetical facts satisfy the elements of the statutes, and assess what the likely outcome will be under the statute. Bernie (a legal professional) is the intended audience for Part II; therefore, use of IRAC for written analysis and Bluebook format for citations is recommended and will earn the most points under the grading rubric.
Format
The final project should follow memo format, use headings, and label individual answers as shown below.
TO: Bernie Franks, Director of Paralegals
FROM: [Your name] (Don’t include brackets)
RE: Maryland Real Property Code – Statutory Summaries and Analysis
DATE: [Date of submission] (Don’t include brackets)
Part I: Statutory Summaries
A.
B.
C.
D.
Part II: Statutory Analysis
A.
B.
C.
Background
Statute
Subsections (b), (e), and (g) of § 8-203 of the Real Property Article in the Annotated Code of Maryland. Use Westlaw to retrieve this statute.
Facts
From December 15, 2017 through December 14, 2019, Jessica Brown and her family leased a house in Maryland owned by Brokers Realty, Inc. (Brokers). Under the terms of the written lease, the Brown family paid a $3000 security deposit and $1000 per month in rent. As required by the lease, Jessica Brown notified Brokers 60 days prior to the end of the lease term that her family would not renew their lease, and the Brown family vacated the house on December 14, 2019.
On January 2, 2020, Brown and Jenny Meyer, one of the owners of Brokers, inspected the house for damage and agreed that $500 would be deducted from the security deposit for several minor damages. Meyer promised to send Brown an itemized list of the damaged property and return the remaining $2500 within a week.
As of February 15, 2020, Brown had received neither an itemized list of damages nor the $2500. From early January until mid-February 2020, Brown repeatedly called and sent letters to Brokers about this matter.
Brown notified Brokers that she is considering legal action. Brown believes that because she was not given an itemized list of damages and given the delay in returning the deposit, her family is entitled to return of the full $3000 damage deposit and any associated legal fees if she must take legal action to get the deposit back.
Part I. Statutory Summaries
A. Retrieve § 8-203 of the Real Property Article in the Annotated Code of Maryland using Westlaw,
and cite this section using Bluebook format. Note: Use of Bluebook format is required for I.A.
B. Write a statutory summary of subsection (b) of the statute.
C. Write a statutory summary of subsection (e) of the statute.
D. Write a statutory summary of subsection (g) of the statute.
Part II. Statutory Analysis
Note: Use subsections 8-203(b), (e), and (g) only. If you rely on a specific portion of a subsection, identify it precisely. For example, if (hypothetically!) your answer relied on § 8-203(b)(11)(i), you’d cite § 8-203(b)(11)(i), not § 8-203(b).
A. Is Brown legally entitled to receive an itemized list of damages? Identify the specific subsection(s) that support your conclusion and thoroughly explain your analysis.
B. Is Brown legally entitled to a return of the full $3000 damage deposit despite the minor damages they caused at the leased house? Identify the specific subsection(s) that support your conclusion and thoroughly explain your analysis.
C. Brown suspects that the amount of the security deposit required under the lease was unlawful. Does Brown have a legal claim against Brokers regarding the amount of the security deposit, and, if so, what might the Brown family be entitled to collect from Brokers? Identify specific subsection(s) that support your conclusions and thoroughly explain your analysis.