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National Glass, Inc. v. J.C. Penney Properties, Inc.

Maryland Court of Appeals
650 A.2d 246 (1994)

Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD

Facts

National Glass, Inc., (NGI) (plaintiff), a Maryland corporation, filed an action in state court in Maryland against J.C. Penney Properties, Inc. (J.C. Penney) (defendant) to establish a mechanic’s lien for work and materials furnished by NGI on a J.C. Penney store in Maryland. NGI had entered a subcontract with a general contractor, John R. Hess, Inc. (Hess), a Pennsylvania corporation in conjunction with the construction of the new Maryland J.C. Penney store. The subcontract contained a provision waiving NGI’s right to assert a mechanic’s lien and a choice-of-law clause selecting Pennsylvania law. Pennsylvania law allows the waiver of a right to seek a mechanic’s lien; Maryland law does not, and it voids any such contract provisions. NGI claimed that Maryland law applied; J.C. Penney claimed that Pennsylvania law applied. The Maryland trial court applied Pennsylvania law and dismissed NGI’s action for failure to state a claim. NGI appealed.

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Holding and Reasoning (Chasanow, J.)

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