Blandair Farm

Nestled in the quickly developing Howard County, Maryland, Blandair Farm is a convert|300|acre|km2|sing=on private open space that has been preserved for the benefit of the growing public. Owned by the late Elizabeth C. Smith, the Blandair Farm was bought by the county after her fatal stroke on February 15, 1997, one day before she was to sign the papers preserving the land after her death.

History

Important Buildings

Blandair Farm consists of a large house (The Manor), two smaller tenant houses - one of which was likely the original living space before the manor was built, a small house that once served as slave quarters, a large barn that was used as a stable and to store feed, and a second large barn that was used to house cows. Much of the property is taken up by woodlands and aged fields.

Although the entire property fell into disrepair after the death of the owner, it is currently being restored by the county.

Elizabeth C. Smith's Vision

As Howard County began to grow and expand, Elizabeth C. Smith began to see the need for its citizens to maintain a connection with the agricultural and historic elements of America.

Elizabeth C. Smith Foundation

The Elizabeth C. Smith Foundation was originally incorporated in Maryland on December 2, 1997 as a non-profit land trust. The purpose behind the organization was to fulfill Smith's dream to preserve the open space in a quickly urbanizing area. The foundation was formed by Byron C. Hall, Jr., an unnamed friend of Smith's, and another unnamed interested person. Hall, Smith's friend of 30 years and named trustee to the foundation she was to create, failed to negotiate with relatives who inheritted the farm. Since they showed no interested in preserving the land as an open space, Hall organized the foundation and named in honor of Smith.

Blandair Foundation

The Foundation was finally able to obtain Smith's original documents, which stated that the Blandair Foundation would hold the title of the farm. Thus, the Elizabeth C. Smith Foundation was changed to the Blandair Foundation to comply with Smith's wishes on July 30, 1999.

Legal Battles

The lawsuit, "Blandair Foundation, Inc. et al v Jane P. Nes et al", against the title of Blandair Farm and the personal estate of Elizabeth C. Smith was filed on June 29, 1998 in the Circuit Court for Howard County, Maryland. The legal theory behind the suit was that of contract law: Elizabeth C. Smith had promised Byron C. Hall, Jr. that she would form the Blandair Foundation to preserve Blandair Farm, convey the title of Blandair Farm and her entire personal estate to the Blandair Foundation, and to appoint Mr. Hall as a trustee of the Blandair Foundation. In return, Mr. Hall accepted appointment as a trustee of the Blandair Foundation and promised Miss Smith that he would faithfully carry out her wishes for the preservation of Blandair Farm. This voluntary exchange of promises constituted a contract that was broken inadvertently by Miss Smith when she died. The plaintiffs sought specific performance of that contract.

The plaintiffs had two hurdles to overcome: the statute of limitations regarding suits against an estate and the statute of frauds regarding the title of Blandair Farm. They argued that the nature of the suit did not fit the accepted criteria of claims against an estate and that partial performance of the contract met the requirements of the statute of frauds.

Hearings were held on November 13,1998, December 17, 1998, and December 7, 1999. The court ruled against the plaintiffs on all counts, with the final opinion issued on June 23, 2000. The plaintiffs decided to appeal the rulings to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

In their briefs, the appellants alleged that the court had erred 1) by misinterpreting Miss Smith's promise as one to make a gift to a charity rather than as one to create a trust, 2) by misapplying standards to judge partial performance of a contract, and 3) by ignoring the distinction between a claim to part of an estate that could have been enforced before Miss Smith's death and a claim to the entirety of an estate that only could have been enforced after her death. A hearing was held before a panel of the Court of Special Appeals on March 5, 2001. On July 31, 2001, the court issued its opinion, rejecting the appeal.

The Appellants filed a petition for a "Writ of Certiorari" with the Court of Appeals (this is the process in Maryland to obtain a discretionary appeal with that court). On October 12, 2001, the court issued an Order denying the petition.

References

[http://www.blandair.org/ The Blandair Foundation]

[http://www.preservationhowardcounty.org/Blandair/index.htm/ County Page Detailing The Work Needed to Repair The Manor]

"To Save Her Dream: A Mission of Duty, Friendship and Justice" by Byron C. Hall, Jr. PublishAmerica, Baltimore, 2004.