Maryland Legal Briefs: May 19, 2009

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 19, 2009

Fire Admin. equipment missing

Public records show more than $250,000 in office equipment has been reported lost, stolen or missing by the U.S. Fire Administration since 2005. The Emmitsburg-based agency, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, provides training and resources to firefighters and rescue workers nationwide and educates the public about fire prevention and preparedness. The records detailing the missing equipment were obtained by The Frederick News-Post through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Warrant issued in gun death

The Harford County Sheriff's Office has issued a warrant charging a Baltimore man in the shooting death of an Edgewood man. The warrant issued Sunday charges 30-year-old Donald Donnell Brown Jr. with second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, assault and a weapons charge in the death of Yamar Martin. Authorities said Brown shot Martin in the area of Mayberry Drive in Aberdeen on May 5. The sheriff's office said friends were driving Martin to Harford Memorial Hospital when they crashed near Havre de Grace on Route 40. Martin was taken to Shock Trauma, where he died.

Cameras not due at PG Metro

Although crime was high at four Prince George's County Metro stations last year, state transportation officials say the stations are not likely to receive security cameras. According to statistics, the New Carrollton, Largo Town Center, Suitland and College Park stations experienced the highest number of violent crimes in 2008. But Jack Cahalan, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Transportation, said there are no plans to install cameras at those stations. He said officials are working with leaders in Prince George's and Montgomery counties to determine how to improve security. Metro recently installed 20 cameras outside a dozen rail stations in the District of Columbia and Fairfax County, Va.

N.C. mulls easing injury rule

North Carolina lawmakers are considering changes to how state courts award damages for personal injury and property damage lawsuits. The House last week approved a bill that eliminates a standard that denies damages to a plaintiff if a jury finds the person was even slightly to blame for the injuries. It would be replaced with a standard used in 46 other states that allows the injured to receive a percentage of the damages. A person would receive $75,000 of the $100,000 in estimated damages if the defendant is 75 percent to blame.