Emily Belanger (Associate-Baltimore, MD) and Angela Russell (Partner-Baltimore, MD) received a defense verdict following a recent bench trial in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. This case has been pending for four years and was appealed to the Appellate Court after the lower court granted Emily and Angela’s motion for summary judgment. The Appellate Court reversed in part and remanded the case for trial. The plaintiff claimed breach of contract and sought the market value of his personal property ($100,000+) and attorney’s fees following the sale of said property after plaintiff’s default on rental payments to our client storage facility. The court focused its analysis on waiver and estoppel based on COVID-19 publications that our client issued from their corporate offices noting leniency on payments and delays in auctions because of the pandemic. The court concluded that the plaintiff did not rely on said COVID-19 publications to establish estoppel, and as to waiver, that the plaintiff failed to carry his burden of proof. The court went on to caution the plaintiff that if he intended to appeal again, any damages would be limited to $5,000, pursuant to the contract, and attorney’s fees would not be recoverable.