Mayor of Baltimore v. Bowen

This began as a workmen’s compensation case. The judicial phase of it commenced when claimant’s counsel, dissatisfied with the fee awarded them by the Workmen’s Compensation Commission, appealed to the Superior Court of Baltimore City seeking an order directing the Commission to award them a higher fee. The court was more than obliging; it not only ordered that the Commission award the higher fee sought by counsel, it also ordered the Commission to recalculate the underlying compensation award, which no one had asked it to do. The employer — the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore — feels…