[Adopted 11-26-2013 by Bill No. 1255]
In this article, the following definitions apply:
ACT
Any decision, action, or failure to act by the County to
which a claim relates, or arises from, or upon which a claim is based.
COUNTY
Talbot County, Maryland.
COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE
All County boards and commissions, all County officials,
department heads, and hearing officers.
PERSON
In addition to an individual, this term includes a general
or limited partnership, joint-stock company, unincorporated association
or society, municipal or other corporation, incorporated association,
limited liability partnership, limited liability company, the state,
an agency or political subdivision of the state, and any other governmental
entity.
PROCEEDING
A public hearing before a County representative, including
any administrative, quasi-judicial or judicial appeal therefrom.
Talbot County, Maryland, in its corporate capacity shall be
a necessary party in all proceedings to which this article applies.
(1) All stages. The County shall be entitled to participate as a party
represented by the Office of Law in all stages of any proceeding before
any County representative involving any claim to which this article
applies, including all administrative, quasi-judicial, or judicial
reviews or appeals therefrom.
(2) Joinder and service. A person asserting a claim in a proceeding to which this article applies shall formally name the County as a party in any such proceeding and shall provide written notice and service upon the County in accordance with the requirements of §
94-4 of this article.
Any person asserting a claim in a proceeding to which this article
applies shall serve a written "Notice of Claim" upon the County Manager
and the County Attorney in accordance with the requirements of this
section.
(1) The Notice of Claim shall be filed in the proceeding and served with
any application, petition, appeal or any request for a permit, special
exception, variance, approval, or request for other action or relief.
(2) The Notice of Claim shall be in writing and shall separately state,
with particularity:
(a) The essential elements of the claim;
(b) The facts on which the claimant relies; and
(c) Any damages and any other relief requested.
(3) Talbot County Code §
20-14, as amended, applies to all proceedings before any County representative in which any person asserts a claim to which this article applies. The Notice of Claim required by this §
94-4, shall be served sufficiently in advance of the public hearing to permit timely compliance with the requirements of County Code §
20-14.
(4) Upon failure to timely comply with the requirements of this §
94-4 and §
20-14, the County representative shall postpone or continue and reschedule the public hearing to permit timely compliance with this section unless such postponement or continuance is affirmatively waived on the record by the Office of Law.
(5) Any proceeding to which this article applies, but as to which the
person asserting a claim has failed to comply with the requirements
of this article, shall be void and of no force or effect as to any
claim by the person against the County or County representative.
A person shall exhaust available administrative remedies and
assert such claim in compliance with the requirements of this article
in all proceedings that the claim relates to or arises from, or upon
which the claim is based.
In this article, unless such construction would be unreasonable,
the singular includes the plural and vice versa; the masculine gender
includes the feminine and vice versa; the conjunctive shall also be
taken in the disjunctive and vice versa; and the use of any tense
of any verb shall be considered also to include with its meaning all
other tenses of the verb so used. "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
"Herein," "hereby," "hereunder," "hereof," "hereinbefore," "hereinafter"
and other equivalent words refer to this article and not solely to
the particular portion thereof in which any such word is used. Wherever
the words "include," "includes," or "including" are used in this article,
they shall be deemed to be followed by the words "without limitation."
The phrase "relates to," "arises from," "upon which the claim is based,"
or "to which the claim relates," as used in this article, means: constitute(s),
refer(s) to, reflects(s), concern(s), pertain(s) to, or any way logically
or factually connect(s) any proceeding, ordinance, rule, regulation,
decision, act, or failure to act by the County or a County representative
to any claim subject to this article.