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Charles Muskin, Trustee v. State Department of Assessments and Taxation, No. 140, September Term, 2010. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - DUE PROCESS - VESTED RIGHTS - Legislation which retrospectively extinguishes previously created ground rents for failure to register them by a certain date violates the due process provision of Maryland's Declaration of Rights by abrogating vested rights. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - TAKINGS - VESTED RIGHTS - A retrospectively reaching registration statute violates the takings provision of Maryland's Constitution by extinguishing a ground rent owner's fee simple interest in property and transferring it to the ground rent tenant, upon failure to register the ground rent lease by a certain date, and without just compensation. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - REGULATORY TAKINGS - REGISTRATION STATUTES A statute that requires registration of a ground rent lease, payment of a modest fee, and supplying certain information on the registration application, "to the best of my knowledge," is not a regulatory taking.

Circuit Court for Baltimore City Case No. 24-C-10-004437

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 140 September Term, 2010

CHARLES MUSKIN, TRUSTEE TRUSTS CREATED UNDER THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ISRAEL BRAVERMAN v. STATE DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENTS AND TAXATION

Bell, C.J., Harrell Battaglia Greene *Murphy Adkins Barbera, JJ. Opinion by Harrell, J. Bell, C.J., and Adkins, J., dissent. Filed: October 25, 2011 *Murphy, J., now retired, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active member of this Court; after being recalled pursuant to the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3A, he also participated in the decision and adoption of this opinion.

Petitioner, Charles Muskin, trustee of two trusts owning ground rent leases in Baltimore City, contends that Chapter 290 of the Laws of 2007, the Ground Rent Registry Statute, is invalid under the federal and Maryland constitutions and Maryland's Declaration of Rights. Chapter 290 was enacted by the General Assembly in response to media attention and public interest in perceived problems with the ground rent system in Maryland. The statute requires Respondent, the State Department of Assessments and Taxation ("SDAT"), to maintain an online registry of ground rent leases and, if a ground lease holder failed to register the property with SDAT by the statutory deadline, to issue an extinguishment certificate transferring the reversionary interest from the ground lease holder to the ground rent tenant. Although we shall assume, for the sake of discussion, that Chapter 290 would pass analytical muster according to the United States Constitution and relevant federal cases, Maryland's Constitution, Declaration of Rights, and long standing relevant case law provide specific prohibitions on the retrospective application of statutes that lead to the abrogation of vested rights and the taking of property without just compensation. For reasons that we shall elaborate, we hold that the extinguishment and transfer provisions of Chapter 290 are invalid under Maryland law. The registration requirements of the statute, however, survive Muskin's challenge. Accordingly, the judgment of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, which upheld generally the statute through its grant of the SDAT's motion for summary judgment and denial of Muskin's motion for summary judgment, shall be vacated and we shall remand the case for entry of a declaratory judgment and issuance of an injunction consistent with the views expressed in this opinion. I. Factual and Legal Background.

Petitioner, Charles Muskin ("Muskin"), is the trustee of two trusts owning 300 ground rent leases located in Baltimore City. A ground rent lease, common in Baltimore City, is a renewable 99 year lease where the fee simple owner of a property receives an annual or semiannual payment ("ground rent") and retains the right to re-enter the property and terminate the lease if the leaseholder fails to pay. Kolker v. Biggs, 203 Md. 137, 141, 99 A.2d 743, 745 (1953). The fee simple owner retains a real property right in the land, but the leaseholder's interest is governed by the law of personalty. Id. Ground rent leases have a mixed history in Maryland, with proponents focusing on the tradition and importance of ground rental income, and critics focusing on anecdotal examples of homeowners being evicted for failure to pay a relatively small amount of ground rent and the complicated system for administering ground rent leases.1 In response to media publicity in 2006 regarding perceived problems in the ground rent system, the Maryland General Assembly passed Chapter 290 of the Laws of 2007, which required the SDAT to create and maintain an online registry of properties subject to ground leases. Maryland Code (1974, 2010 Repl. Vol.) Real Property Article,

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