Tri-County Unlimited, Inc. v. Kids First Swim School, Inc. (Ct. of Special Appeals)

Filed: March 31, 2010.
Opinion by Judge Alexander Wright, Jr.

Held: A complaint filed by a forfeited corporation is a nullity, even if the corporation’s charter is subsequently revived.

Facts: A forfeited corporation filed a complaint. The defendant brought a motion to dismiss, asserting that the corporation lacked capacity to bring suit because its charter had been forfeited. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss even though the charter had been revived prior to the filing of the motion.

Analysis: The Court of Special Appeals affirmed, holding that the revival of the charter did not restore the lawsuit. In so holding, the court noted that other Maryland decisions have made clear that a complaint filed by a forfeited corporation is a legal nullity. The fact that a corporation’s right to sue is restored when a charter is revived does not imply that prior invalid lawsuits are somehow restored as well.

The full opinion is available in PDF.