RSRM is proud to congratulate Tara A. Barnes and Audreina J. Blanding on a significant appellate victory before the Appellate Court of Maryland!
The appeal arose from a wrongful death action in which the plaintiffs sought to hold a company vicariously liable for a fatal collision allegedly caused by its employee while he was driving his personal vehicle en route to work. The Circuit Court for Howard County entered summary judgment in the company’s favor. The plaintiffs and the defendant-employee pursued parallel appeals challenging that ruling. In July 2026, the Appellate Court of Maryland affirmed the judgment in the company’s favor, concluding that the circumstances did not justify departing from Maryland’s longstanding rule that an employer generally is not vicariously liable for an employee’s negligence while commuting to work. On appeal, RSRM defended the judgment through two comprehensive appellate briefs authored by Audreina, addressing the distinct arguments raised each of the parallel appeals. Among other issues, the briefs demonstrated that...
