Stevenson v. Steele, 105

• Decision Date: 29 September 1998
• Docket Number: No. 105,105
• Parties: Ellen E. STEVENSON, et al. v. Eileen B. STEELE, et al.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

720 A.2d 1176

352 Md. 60

Ellen E. STEVENSON, et al. v. Eileen B. STEELE, et al.

No. 105, Sept. Term, 1998.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

September 29, 1998.

Subsequent Opinion December 7, 1998.

Ramon Rozas, Cumberland, for appellants.

Alex Radice, Baltimore, for appellees.

Argued before BELL, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, RAKER, WILNER and CATHELL, JJ., ROBERT L. KARWACKI, Judge (retired), Specially Assigned, and RAYMOND G. THIEME, Jr., Judge, Specially Assigned.

PER CURIAM ORDER.

For reasons to be stated in an opinion later to be filed, it is this 29th day of September, 1998.

ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the judgment of the Circuit Court for Allegany County is affirmed; mandate to issue forthwith; costs to be paid by appellants.

ELDRIDGE, Judge.

The issue in this case is whether the trial court correctly determined that Dr. Eileen Steele met the eligibility requirements under the Maryland Constitution to be a candidate for the House of Delegates.

The defendant-appellee, Dr. Eileen Steele, was the Republican nominee for the House of Delegates for legislative district 1C as a result of the primary election held September 15, 1998. The plaintiffs-appellants, Ellen Stevenson, et al., brought suit challenging Dr. Steele's eligibility to serve as a Delegate, claiming that Dr. Steele had not been domiciled in Maryland for the constitutionally required one year minimum period and had not been domiciled in legislative district 1C for the constitutionally required six month minimum period.¹ After a two day trial in the Circuit Court for Allegany County, the court on September 25, 1998, held, inter alia, that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Dr. Steele was not eligible to be a candidate for the House of Delegates. The plaintiffs appealed, and this Court issued a writ of certiorari prior to any proceedings in the Court of Special Appeals. Stevenson v. Steele, 351 Md. 284, 718 A.2d 233 (1998). After oral argument before this Court on September 29, 1998, we issued an order affirming the judgment of the Circuit Court for Allegany County. We now set forth the reasons for that order.

I.

The evidence presented to the circuit court disclosed the following facts. Dr. Steele has spent the majority of her life in Allegany County. Dr. Steele and her husband had managed many rental properties over the years, and most of the properties were located in Allegany County. In 1985, Dr. Steele began teaching in Washington, D.C., and continued to do so until 1995. Dr. Steele's husband was a chiropractor, and his practice was in Allegany County at 42 West Mechanic Street, Frostburg. From August 1993 through August 1995, Dr. Steele and her husband lived part of the time in a residential apartment located in the same building in Frostburg as her husband's practice and part of the time at 4622 Fifteenth Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., which was one of the many properties that they owned. Dr. Steele testified that the Frostburg address was their "official" address and that their drivers' licenses, income tax returns, insurance policies, checking accounts, etc. all reflected the Frostburg address. Frostburg is located in legislative district 1B.

From August 1995 through December 1997, Dr. Steele and her husband owned the Clarysville motel, located in Clarysville, Allegany County, which is also in legislative district 1B. According to Dr. Steele, managing the motel was more than a full time job; therefore she spent nearly every day at the motel. Dr. Steele and her husband also lived at the motel until some time in December 1997 when they sold it. Dr. Steele testified that she and her husband planned to sell most of their properties and to renovate a residential property in Cumberland, Allegany County, that had been in her family. Cumberland is in legislative district 1C. Dr. Steele stated that her intention was to renovate the Cumberland property and thereafter to live there. In November 1997, the Washington, D.C., property mentioned above had been put on the market, but it had not been sold. In January 1998, after the sale of the Clarysville motel, Dr. Steele stayed at the Washington property to prepare it for sale. Dr. Steele's husband remained in Frostburg and lived in one of the residences in the building that contained his office. Dr. Steele and her husband were with each other on weekends, sometimes in Washington and sometimes in Frostburg.

On January 13, 1998, Dr. Steele registered in legislative district 1B to vote. In so doing, Dr. Steele stated under oath that she was a resident of legislative district 1B. She had not voted in the past ten years and had been required to re-register. When she registered to vote, Dr. Steele was renovating the Washington property and taking care of many other rental properties owned by her and her husband. At the time of trial Dr. Steele owned the following properties: 42 and 44 West Mechanic Street, Frostburg; 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 21 Park Street, Frostburg; 32 Mechanic Street, Frostburg; 220 West Main Street, Frostburg; 513 Oldtown Road, Cumberland; 4622 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Washington. The property located in Cumberland is the family property that Dr. Steele stated that she intended to renovate and move into.

On April 21, 1998, Dr. Steele's husband suddenly passed away. Dr. Steele stopped renovating the Washington property and stayed in Allegany County to take care of her husband's affairs. She spent her time dealing with her husband's chiropractic practice and all of the rental properties. A friend of Dr. Steele's, Mary Miltenberger, offered to rent an apartment to Dr. Steele for $250.00 a month, and Dr. Steele accepted the offer. The apartment is located at 529 North Centre Street, Cumberland, which is in legislative district 1C. Dr. Steele moved into this apartment on April 27, 1998. The Cumberland apartment is furnished, and the utilities are included in the rent. Dr. Steele testified that she moved her personal belongings into the Cumberland apartment. On May 5, 1998, Dr. Steele changed her voter registration to reflect the new Cumberland address, thus stating under oath that she was a resident of legislative district 1C. Dr. Steele, on June 11, 1998, filed her certificate of candidacy for the House of Delegates which was also filed under oath. In June 1998, Dr. Steele changed the registration of one of her motor vehicles and her driver's license to reflect the Cumberland address. On August 1, 1998, Dr. Steele moved from the back apartment at 529 North Centre Street, Cumberland, to the front apartment in the same building. On August 12, 1998, this lawsuit was filed.

The plaintiffs introduced evidence that some of Dr. Steele's neighbors had not seen her outside in the vicinity of the Cumberland apartment. Dr. Steele testified that she travels a great deal but has spent at least fifty percent of her nights at the Cumberland apartment. She stated that she is very busy and is up early in the morning and out until very late at night. During the time period at issue, Dr. Steele testified that she traveled to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and many places in Maryland. She continued to manage her husband's affairs and her real estate.

Dr. Steele has three bank accounts, two of which list the North Centre Street, Cumberland, address. Dr. Steele also has a credit card and a bank account which reflect the Washington, D.C., address. Dr. Steele stated that she receives personal, business and campaign mail at the Cumberland apartment. Dr. Steele has never registered to vote in Washington, D.C., registered a car in Washington, used the Washington address on her driver's license, nor has she ever paid District of Columbia income tax. According to the testimony, Dr. Steele kept only minimal clothing and furniture at the Washington address. Dr. Steele voted in the September 15, 1998, primary election in legislative district 1C.

II.

After the two-day trial, the circuit court filed an opinion and order denying the plaintiffs' request for relief. The circuit court initially held that the plaintiffs' action was untimely. The court took the position that the suit was governed by the provisions of former Maryland Code (1957, 1997 Repl. Vol.), Art. 33, §§ 19-1 through 19-5. Section 19-3 required that a petition for judicial relief under the subtitle be filed within 20 days of the act or omission relating to an election, or within 20 days after it became known to the plaintiff, or within 20 days of the official canvas of election results.² The circuit court found that Dr. Steele's certificate of candidacy was filed on June 11, 1998, that the plaintiffs knew of it on July 7, 1998, and knew on July 7, 1998, of the question concerning Dr. Steele's domicile. Thus, according to the court, § 19-3 required that the plaintiffs file their action by July 27, 1998. Since the action was not filed until August 12, 1998, the court held that it was time barred.

Alternatively, the circuit court held that, if the plaintiffs' action was timely, the plaintiffs failed to establish that Dr. Steele was not domiciled in Maryland and in legislative district 1C for the required period of time. The court set forth findings of fact delineating Dr. Steele's various connections with Allegany County, Frostburg, Clarysville, and Cumberland during the relevant periods. The court's findings indicated that Dr. Steele had been domiciled in legislative district 1B for several years prior to April 27, 1998, and that, since April 27, 1998, she has been domiciled in Cumberland in legislative district 1C.

In this Court, the plaintiffs argued that the provisions of Art. 33, §§ 19-1 through 19-5, have no application to this case and that the circuit court erred in holding that the action was untimely. As to the circuit court's alternative holding, the plaintiffs assert that Dr. Steele had not been domiciled in the State of Maryland for the required one year minimum period...