Sugarloaf Alliance v. Frederick Cnty.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Maryland held that the circuit court abused its discretion in reducing Sugarloaf Alliance's reasonable attorneys' fee request without demonstrating that it applied the required lodestar factors and by relying on improper considerations. It reversed the intermediate appellate judgment and remanded for the fee petition to be reconsidered under the lodestar approach, with an adequate explanation of any reductions. The opinion notes that dissenting judges would have affirmed because they viewed the circuit court's analysis as a permissible exercise of discretion.