Antonio v. SSA Security, Inc.

The federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit certified to this Court the following question of law:

Does the Maryland Security Guards Act, Md.Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 19-501, impose liability beyond common law principles of respondeat superior such that an employer may be responsible for off-duty criminal acts of an employee if the employee planned any part of the off-duty criminal acts while he or she was on duty?

We answer the certified question in the negative. For reasons to be explained, we hold that § 19-501 of the Maryland Security Guards Act is a codification of Maryland’s…