Federal Lawsuit Update 12

It appears that the long running attempts by Paul Kendall and his merry band of plaintiffs to dismantle the county’s land use and zoning procedures is finally over. The legal drama that has been played out in federal and state courts for almost three years now was dealt a fatal death blow on Monday when the 4^th U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond upheld an earlier ruling dismissing the case.

According to this story by Larry Carson in The Sun, the "court ruled there are no federal constitutional issues involved in the case.”

Susan Gray, a former Democratic candidate for county executive and the attorney for the plaintiffs, had argued that the denial of the petition that sought to put  the Turf Valley Town Center retail project to referendum was equated with denying the right to vote and therefore a violation of her clients constitutional rights.

That leaves Marc Norman as the last plaintiff standing in the way of the development. After Howard County Circuit Court Judge Timothy McCrone rejected  Normans case in April last year he took his case the Court of Special Appeals. He has already exhausted the appeals in his federal case.

“Norman says he will ultimately prevail despite the setback in federal appeals court. He's hoping the names on his petitions will be ordered valid under the new interpretation of Maryland's signature laws in a March 22 Court of Appeals decision in a Montgomery county case.”

That’s doubtful but since the food workers union is footing the legal bills I suppose he feels obligated to put a hopeful face on a hopeless cause.