WPC  ( 8 QPN NIw мoF Au*ASzIG/]?TO,Ŋ$MU&fY8N$pxmySc'8aSJn&}P }03jS˿Zq?>O@]4y6=Jw ^ ŏhY%yaչ`B,D `@7cO^"DtzeD,ƙ:G HԐL=X:܊$ =KׅYWLEEwVûp'n*+bG6-;id] $f}i uG:):,ID7^_rzGEY;矼T4r 0< 0<@ 0n|UFUJ0 %z 0#*UN M9 (= Ne ^ g ws 4w  m \  `&Times New Roman'  Training0Training .   <:Default Para<:Footnote Ref< :Endnote TextXXX7\  `.Times New Roman TURkIA`2WP TypographicSymbols X#|x(rq$..       X X Acrobat PDFWriter,,,,0(9 Z6Times New Roman Regularz/ h.:i+00U  q!..       X X   _       X(XX(XXX(TheBankofNewYorketal.v.Ronald_Sheff_Ԁetal.,CaseNo.:CAL0221119,2003_MDBT_Ԁ9  (CircuitCourtforPrinceGeorge'sCounty)(September10,2003)(perStevenI.Platt)  PlaintiffsBankofNewYork,asTrustee,EatonVanceMunicipalBondFund,National b MunicipalsPortfolio,HighYieldMunicipalsPortfolio,andMarylandMunicipalsPortfolio,filed H suitagainstDefendantsRonald_Sheff_,_Kimi_Ԁ_Murakimi_,andPiper_Rudnick_,_LLP_,alleging . ~ attorneymalpractice.In1993,PrinceGeorgeXVXXX(=X(XXXVsCountyissued$50millionintaxexempt  d revenuebonds.TheCountyactedmerelyasaconduitinthetransactionandissuedthebondsto  L raisefundsforaprivateborrower.Piperwasbondcounselinthetransactions.(_Sheff_Ԁand  2 _Murakimi_ԀwereattorneyswhoworkedatPiper.)Piperdraftedmostofthedocumentsrelevantto    thedisputeandfiled,orcausedtobefiled,financingstatementsinMaryland.Itdidnotdosoin    Washington,D.C.ThePlaintiffsallegedthatPiperandthetwoattorneys(theDefendants)   failedtotimelyperfecttheirsecurityinterestintheDistrictofColumbia,whichwasthebasisfor z  themalpracticeclaim. `  Defendantsmovedforsummaryjudgment,arguingthatalloftherelevanttransactiondocuments ,|  specifiedthattheBorrower,andnottheDefendants,wasresponsibleforfilingallnecessary b financingstatements.TheyalsocontendedthatthestatuteoflimitationsbarredthePlaintiffs H fromrecovery. . Held:Summaryjudgmentgranted.DefendantsowednodutytoPlaintiffs(theBorrowers)  withrespecttofilingoffinancingstatementsintheDistrictofColumbia.Moreover,thestatute  oflimitationsbarredtheclaim. v Synopsis:DefendantsXVXXX(=X(XXXVԀclientwasPrinceGeorgeXVXXX(=X(XXXVsCounty,nottheplaintiffsinthelitigation. B ThePlaintiffsXVXXX(=X(XXXVԀcomplaint,pleadings,andargumentsdidnotpursuetheclaimthatPlaintiffswere *z thirdpartybeneficiariesoftheagreementbetweenPiperandtheCounty.Marylandsubscribes b totheruleinattorneymalpracticeactionsthateitherprivitymustexistbetweenthepartiesorthe H plaintiffmustbeathirdpartybeneficiaryoftheattorneyclientagreement.That,inturn,requires . thatthenonclientallegeandprovethattheintentoftheclienttobenefitthenonclientwasa  directpurposeofthetransactionorrelationship.Moreover,inacasewheretheriskofharmis  solelyeconomic,aswasthecasehere,thereisarequirementofstrictprivityoritsequivalent.   TherewasnoevidencebeforetheCourteitherofstrictprivityoritsequivalent. v!  ForthereasonsstatedbytheDefendantsinitsmotionandarguments,theCourtalsograntedthe B#" motiononthegroundsthatthelimitationsperiodhadrun:therewasnodisputethatthe ($x# Plaintiffswereonnoticeoftheirpotentialclaimmorethanthreeyearsbeforetheybroughtit. %^ $ Counsel: &*"& WilliamA.Davis,Esquire '#' DavidT.Shapiro,Esquire (#( NoamB._Fischman_,Esquire )$) _Mintz_,Levin,Cohn,Ferris, r*%* _Glovsky_Ԁand_Popeo_,P.C. X+&+ 701PennsylvaniaAvenue,_N.W._,Suite900 >,',  Washington,D.C.20004 $-t(- _ԇ KevinJ.McCarthy,Esquire  McCarthy&Costello,L.L.P.  OneTownCenter | 4201NorthviewDrive,Suite410 b Bowie,Maryland207162668 H GersonA.Zweifach,Esquire  d JosephG.Petrosinelli,Esquire  J WilliamsandConnolly,LLP  0 72512thStreet,N.W.    Washington,D.C.20005    GregoryKeithWells,Esquire x  1801McCormickDrive,Suite160 ^  Largo,Maryland20774 D  X(XXX(