County Com'rs of Frederick County v. Schrodel
Citation | 577 A.2d 39,320 Md. 202 |
Decision Date | 31 July 1990 |
Docket Number | No. 18,18 |
Parties | COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF FREDERICK COUNTY, Maryland v. William F. SCHRODEL and Kathleen T. Schrodel. Sept. Term 1990. |
Court | Court of Appeals of Maryland |
Francis B. Burch, Jr. and Roger D. Redden (Kurt J. Fischer, Piper & Marbury, Baltimore, John S. Mathias, County Atty., Frederick, on brief), for petitioner.
G. Macy Nelson (Gregory L. VanGeison, James S. Aist, Anderson, Coe & King, Baltimore, David L. Johnson, Johnson, Parker & Hess, P.A., Westminster, on brief), for respondents.
Argued Before MURPHY, C.J., ELDRIDGE, COLE, RODOWSKY, McAULIFFE and CHASANOW, JJ., and THEODORE G. BLOOM, Judge of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Specially Assigned.
The County Commissioners of Frederick County own and operate the county sanitary landfill, located on Reichs Ford Road, southeast of the city of Frederick. The state permit for operating this landfill will expire in April 1991. While the County believes that it will receive a permit extension from the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Director of the County Department of Public Works estimates that the County will be unable to use the current landfill after late 1992 or early 1993. Thus, the County is seeking additional land for a new landfill.
William F. and Kathleen T. Schrodel own property adjacent to the current landfill and operate a dairy farm on that site. The County is attempting to acquire this land as a location for the new landfill. On October 3, 1988, the County submitted a purchase option to the Schrodels, offering to pay the higher of two appraisals for the farm. The two sides were unable to negotiate an agreement for a purchase, and on September 13, 1989, the County instituted the present action by filing a condemnation petition in the Circuit Court for Frederick County.
The Schrodels initially moved to dismiss the action, arguing (1) that the County had no right to bring it because the County was still entertaining offers and submitting bids on other parcels of land, and (2) that the County had breached its obligation to negotiate in good faith before filing the suit. The circuit court denied the motion, as well as a motion for reconsideration. The Schrodels appealed, taking the position that the order was appealable under the so-called "collateral order doctrine." The Court of Special Appeals, however, dismissed the appeal, awarding costs and attorney's fees to the County because "the appeal ... was without substantial justification."
A trial date was originally set for January 16, 1990. The Schrodels moved for a continuance, and at a conference before Circuit Judge Dwyer all parties agreed upon a date of March 26, 1990.
In January, the County filed a response to the Schrodels' Request for Production of Documents. The Schrodels took the position that "[t]he substance of these documents made it apparent that the Schrodel farm was not geologically suitable for this landfill." On February 20, 1990, the Schrodels filed in the Circuit Court for Frederick County a separate action against the County Commissioners based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Schrodels in this separate action sought to enjoin trial of the condemnation suit, and sought $25,000,000.00 in damages, plus costs and attorney's fees. The seven counts in the § 1983 action, for the most part, paralleled the Schrodels' defenses in the condemnation suit, although there was a negligence count based on alleged damage caused by the current landfill to the dairy farm. The circuit court issued an order in the § 1983 action, requiring the County Commissioners to show cause by April 9, 1990, why an injunction should not be granted against the condemnation proceedings.
On March 2, 1990, the Schrodels moved for a second postponement of the trial in the condemnation case. In their written motion, they asked the court to "postpon[e] said condemnation trial on the merits [until] a date after the Show Cause order [in the separate civil action] is first heard [sometime after April 9, 1990]." The Schrodels also stated that an expert witness for them was "out of the country and [would] not be able to testify unless the trial [were] continued to at least April 22, 1990."
At a hearing on the motion for a postponement in the condemnation case, held on March 13 and 15, 1990, the Schrodels did not argue for a postponement because of their missing expert witness. Instead, counsel for the Schrodels, in arguing that the court should postpone the condemnation trial, stated:
Counsel did insist that there would have to be "remuneration" in the event that a permit was denied. This remuneration would compensate the Schrodels for, inter alia, test wells that would remain on their farm. The court attempted to make this suggestion a foundation for a consent decree, asking the County,
The court noted that "quite frankly, I can set the trial date right now at the conclusion of the time period [for obtaining the permit]--you know, [the County would] have to give me a better time period as to when [it would] get the permit...." The trial judge later said he would "set a date ... based upon the approximate dates which I have been informed ... that these test wells take...." The judge then "set" a date eighteen months in the future and told the parties that
An order was signed by the court on March 29, 1990. It read as follows:
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