Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - 16

FEATURE
D.C. Superior Court is assisted by more than 20 magistrate judges and 30
senior judges. The latter are retired from active service and sometimes sit
part time to assist on a trial calendar in Superior Court or on one of the
three-judge panels to hear cases in the Court of Appeals.
" The decisions of our courts have a broader impact beyond the parties
to the case because [they] become the law for the District of Columbia, "
Blackburne-Rigsby says. " They impact not just the parties but the community,
the businesses, the people visiting and working in [the city], and
the contractors who are trying to do developments and zoning. "
THE WAITING GAME
Joseph and Angeloyd Fenrick, a married couple living in Capitol Heights,
Maryland, know this firsthand. They have been involved in a case since
May 2021, when they were sued by Fruition Investments LLC, a domestic
limited liability company, for breach of warranty. The couple owns a multifamily
apartment building in southeast D.C. and wants to sell the property.
Court
documents show that in February 2021 the Fenricks sent an offer
of sale to the tenants, who then formed a tenants' association. A month
later the tenants signed their rights to Fruition Investments, which in
turn exercised its right of first refusal and sent a letter to the D.C. Department
of Housing and Community Development's Rental Conversion
and Sale Division. The plaintiff claims the Fenricks have refused to cooperate
regarding the building's purchase.
Angeloyd Fenrick counters that when they first attempted to sell the
building, they gave the residents two to three years to purchase, but no
one did. So, the couple put the building on the market. " That's when the
lawsuit was filed against us, " she says.
Joseph Fenrick says the slow-moving case has been moved from judge
to judge over the past three years. " It's taken an awful lot of time, " he
says. " It's on its third judge now. "
Court records show that the case was transferred from the first judge,
who retired, to the second in April 2022. Following a failed mediation in
August 2022 and a motion hearing that November, a pretrial conference
was held in September 2023. The second judge handling the case recused
herself in March 2024.
Now with the third judge, the case is scheduled for a jury trial in March
2025.
" It's been very frustrating, " Joseph Fenrick says. " We can't seem to get
a judge to push the case forward. "
Reach D.C. Bar staff writer John Murph at jmurph@dcbar.org.
16 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024

Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024

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Contents
Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - 1
Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - Contents
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