Evergreen Associates, LLC v. Crawford

On May 26, 2009, a fire originated in the basement of a building located at 1 West Main Street in Frostburg, Maryland, resulting in substantial damage to the building. At the time of the fire, appellant, Evergreen Associates, LLC (“Evergreen”), was the owner and commercial landlord of the building, having leased the first floor and part of the basement of the building to appellee, Joseph Crawford, in connection with his operation of a “Gianni’s Pizza” restaurant.

Evergreen filed suit against appellee in the Circuit Court for Allegany County, claiming, inter alia, that the fire was caused by an…