Dabrowski v. Dondalski

MOYLAN, Judge. The appellees, Angeline and Anthony Dondalski (hereinafter Mrs. Dondalski), sued the appellant, Bernard Dabrowski, t/a Bernard Dabrowski & Son Funeral Home (Dabrowski), for injuries incurred when Mrs. Dondalski on May 11, 1981, slipped and fell on the steps of the Dabrowski Funeral Home. In September of 1984, Dabrowski moved for summary judgment on the grounds that Mrs. Dondalski had failed to allege facts sufficient to establish negligence and that Mrs. Dondalski had been contributorily negligent as a matter of law. Mrs. Dondalski filed her response on May 27, 1985, including a request for a hearing.

It was, coincidentally, on that same day that Judge Joseph H.H. Kaplan awarded summary judgment to Dabrowski without an opinion. Under Maryland Rule 2-535, Mrs. Dondalski filed a timely Motion to Strike Judgment. On October 10, 1985, Judge Joseph I. Pines granted the Motion by marginal Order and without opinion. It cannot be determined whether his decision was based upon the merits or upon the procedural flaw of ordering summary judgment against Mrs. Dondalski without having given her the benefit of a hearing.

On October 28, 1986, the case came on for trial before a Baltimore City jury, presided over by Judge Mary Arabian. At the close of all of the evidence, Judge Arabian granted the appellant’s Motion for Judgment on the grounds that ⁷⁴⁹ Mrs. Dondalski had failed to show sufficient facts to establish negligence and that Mrs. Dondalski had been contributorily negligent as a matter of law. Mrs. Dondalski, by way of an alternative appeals route, requested an In Banc review pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-551. A panel of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, presided over by Judge Joseph I. Pines as Chairman and including