Liddy v. Lamone

• Decision Date: 29 March 2007
• Docket Number: No. 71, September Term, 2006.,71, September Term, 2006.
• Citation: 919 A.2d 1276,398 Md. 233
• Parties: Nikos Stanford LIDDY v. Linda H. LAMONE, et al.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

919 A.2d 1276

398 Md. 233

Nikos Stanford LIDDY v. Linda H. LAMONE, et al.

No. 71, September Term, 2006.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

March 29, 2007.

Jason W. Showmaker, Bowie (Douglas W. Thiessen, West River, on brief), for appellant.

Carmen M. Shepard (Buc & Beardsley, Washington, DC, of counsel, Dan Friedman, Baltimore, on brief), William F. Brockman, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., Michael D. Berman, Asst. Atty. Gen., on brief), for appellees.

Argued before BELL, C.J., RAKER, WILNER,^* CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, JJ.

BELL, C.J.

This is the second of two cases involving the eligibility requirements of a candidate for the office of the Attorney General of Maryland. In Abrams v. Lamone, 398 Md. 146, 919 A.2d 1223 (2007), this Court considered a petition by Stephen A. Abrams ("Abrams")¹ challenging the eligibility of Thomas E. Perez ("Perez") to hold the office of the Attorney General. In Abrams, a case of first impression for this Court, this Court was required to interpret Article V, Section 4 of the Maryland Constitution, which provides:

"No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney-General, who is not a citizen of this State, and a qualified voter therein, and has not resided and practiced Law in this State for at least ten years." (Emphasis added).

Concluding that Perez had not met the eligibility requirements, i.e., he had not been a member of the Maryland Bar for the requisite period, we reversed the judgment of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, 398 Md. at 146, 919 A.2d at 1223, which had ruled that Perez met the necessary qualifications to run in the 2006 Gubernatorial Primary Election.²

The instant challenge was brought by Nikos Stanford Liddy ("Liddy"), the appellant, against Douglas F. Gansler ("Gansler"), one of the appellees, the victor in the September 12, 2006 primary election, thus the Democratic Party's nominee for the office of the Attorney General. In addition to Gansler, the appellant also named Linda H. Lamone ("Lamone"), the State Administrator of Elections, and the State Board of Elections ("the State Board"), collectively, the appellees, as defendants. It was filed on October 20, 2006, more than three months after the Abrams suit, almost two months after this Court's Order in that case, and just 18 days prior to the November 7, 2006 general election. In the complaint, he asserted that Gansler, like Perez, was ineligible to run for the office of the Attorney General, arguing that Gansler has not "practiced Law in this State for at least ten years."

There is, however, a threshold issue which must be addressed, whether the appellant waited too long to bring this action and, thus, is barred, by the equitable doctrine of laches, from bringing it now.³ We shall hold that this action is barred by laches.

A.

As stated earlier, in order for one to run for the office of the Attorney General, one must be qualified to do so. Article V, § 4 of the Maryland Constitution prescribes those qualifications. In addition, under the current Election Law Article, see Maryland Code (2003, 2006 Cum.Supp.), §§ 1-101, et seq., a candidate wishing to hold the office of the Attorney General must register his or her candidacy by filing, with the State Board, pursuant to § 5-301(a),⁴ a certificate of candidacy, under oath.⁵ On June 28, 2006, Gansler filed his certificate of candidacy, in which he certified that he is "a registered voter and a citizen of Maryland and meet[s] all other requirements for the . . . office [of the Attorney General]." The State Board accepted Gansler's certificate and, pursuant to § 5-601(1)⁶ of the Election Law Article, placed his name on the ballot for the 2006 Gubernatorial Primary Election.

The Election Law Article also provides that any registered voter may seek judicial relief if he or she alleges that an "act or omission relating to an election, whether or not the election has been held, is inconsistent with th[e Election Law A]rticle or other law applicable to the elections process and may change or has changed the outcome of the election," provided that the action is filed "within the earlier of 10 days after the act or omission or the date the act or omission became known to the petitioner or 7 days after the election results are certified, unless the election was a gubernatorial primary or special primary election, in which case 3 days after the election results are certified."⁷ As stated earlier, Liddy brought a challenge to Gansler's qualifications. He did so on October 20, 2006, when he sought declaratory and injunctive relief against Gansler, Lamone, and the State Board because, he claimed, Gansler's legal experience did not satisfy Article V, § 4's requirement that a candidate for that office "practice[ ] Law in this State for at least ten years."

Gansler filed a Motion to Dismiss Or, In The Alternative, for Summary Judgment, contending that he met all eligibility requirements for the office. Moving to dismiss and expedite scheduling, the other appellees contended that Liddy's action was barred by limitations and by laches. In support, they alleged that their sole interest in the action was to ensure an orderly administration of the election process, the deadlines of which would be jeopardized if the action were not adjudicated expeditiously.⁸

Following a hearing at which it heard extensive testimony pertaining to the merits of Gansler's constitutional eligibility for the office of the Attorney General, the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County denied the dispositive motions filed by the appellees and Gansler.⁹ Although the Circuit Court addressed, in addition to laches, the issues of the applicable statute of limitations and the merits of the case, we will confine our discussion to the equitable doctrine of laches.¹⁰

On the issue of laches, the appellees argued that the appellant's claim was "an eleventh hour lawsuit that threaten [ed] to disrupt the entire elections machinery, to sew doubt in the minds of voters, to create voter confusion and uncertainty, and generally to defeat voters' choices." The appellees maintained "voters ought to be able to make their choice intelligently and based on the ballots that have been created and in accordance with the election law." The appellees' paramount concern was the prejudice this action would have on the electorate and its choice of Attorney General candidates. In addition, they outlined the various procedures which had already taken place, and which were in the process of taking place, and insisted that the appellant's claim was simply brought too close to the general election to allow any changes or alterations to be made. The process was well underway, and to grant the appellant the relief he requested, i.e. the removal of Gansler's name from the general election ballot, at such a late stage "would lead to an unmanageable disruption of the general election and disenfranchise thousands of voters." Conversely, the appellant argued that the constitutional issue, the interpretation of Article V, § 4, outweighed any merit found in the laches defense.

In rejecting the appellees' arguments, the Circuit Court, citing Ross v. State Board of Elections, 387 Md. 649, 671, 876 A.2d 692, 705 (2005), held that application of laches was inappropriate in a situation such as the case sub judice. It determined that Liddy was "not responsible for any inexcusable delay in the processing of his complaint [and found] it inappropriate to allow the general election to go forward without examining whether a candidate who may become this State's next Attorney General is constitutionally eligible to hold that office." The court further noted, on the issue of prejudice, that "Mr. Gansler cannot be prejudiced because if, in fact, he does not meet the eligibility requirements, he ought not to be on the ballot. The S[tate] B[oard of] E[lections] is not prejudiced because it is undisputed that at this late date, there is nothing that can be done to alter the makeup of the ballot for this election." On the other hand, the court noted that "Plaintiff [Liddy] and similarly situated voters would be prejudiced if an ineligible candidate were to remain on the ballot because of a delay in finding out about the lack of eligibility."

Although the appellant prevailed on the dispositive motions, the Circuit Court ultimately ruled in favor of Gansler and his continued candidacy for the office of the Attorney General. The appellant, pursuant to § 12-203(a)¹¹ of the Election Law Article, in response, noted an appeal to this Court and to the Court of Special Appeals. In addition, he filed, in this Court, a Petition for Writ of Certiorari, which this Court granted. Liddy v. Lamone, 395 Md. 420, 910 A.2d 1061 (2006). The appellees and Gansler subsequently filed a Joint Cross-Petition for Writ of Certiorari. Oral argument was heard on November 2, 2006, and, on that same day, the Court issued its Order vacating the judgment of the Circuit Court and remanding the case to that court with directions to dismiss it on the ground of laches. We now set forth the reasons for that Order.

B.

Laches is one of the affirmative defenses recognized and expressly listed in M d. Rule 2-323.¹² Generally, it must be pled, but it can be invoked by a court on its own initiative. See, e.g., Ipes v. Board of Fire Comm'rs of Baltimore, 224 Md. 180, 183, 167 A.2d 337, 339 (1961) (recognizing that laches is a proper ground for refusing to issue a writ of mandamus); Baltimore County v. Glendale Corp., 219 Md. 465, 468, 150 A.2d 433, 435 (1959) (noting that, although it is essential to raise the defense of laches in the pleadings, "equity may decline relief for a stale claim after the facts are fully developed"); Warburton v. Davis, 123 Md. 225, 231, 91 A. 163, 165 (1914) (recognizing that a court, in a proper case and on its own motion, may refuse to grant relief to a complainant who on the final hearing appears to have been guilty...