William C. Sammons

Bill has been practicing law with Tydings for 50 years.  Although he began as a general business practitioner representing clients in both litigation and transactional matters, for almost three decades his practice has been limited to civil litigation, with an emphasis on antitrust, business torts, employment, securities law, real estate, and other business litigation.  He has tried cases in federal and state courts throughout Maryland and elsewhere, and has represented clients before arbitration panels and in a variety of administrative courts, with particular focus on matters before the Maryland Tax Court.   Prior to joining Tydings, Bill clerked for the Honorable William J. McWilliams, Associate Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Representative Matters

• Represented one of the world’s largest pension funds in litigation involving ownership interests in a real estate portfolio valued in excess of one-half billion dollars.  At trial, the pension fund prevailed against a joint venture partner, convincing the Court that the partner no longer had an interest in the portfolio, and that the pension fund was the sole owner.
• Defended a major automobile manufacturer in a series of antitrust cases that challenged the manufacturer’s parts distribution practices.
• Represented a Fortune 100 telecommunications company in litigation concerning the constitutionality of a portion of the Maryland sales and use tax.  Starting in the Maryland Tax Court, the case ended at the Maryland Court of Appeals, where the Court agreed with the client that the assessment of the tax violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, thereby defeating the state’s $10 million tax claim.
• During most of his career has represented a Fortune 50 technology company in Maryland litigation matters involving employment issues, contract disputes, discrimination claims, and other business disputes.
• For six years, served a large public pension fund as lead litigation counsel in connection with its commercial real estate portfolio.  Cases included landlord-tenant matters, use covenants, and the like.
• Represented various clients in employment cases including discrimination (race, sex, national origin), cases under the ADEA and the ADA, WARN Act cases, wrongful discharge cases, and cases involving covenants not to compete.
• Represented a Russian professional hockey club in enforcing an international arbitration award against a U.S. hockey team and its star player.
• Represented various clients in disputes involving business torts, corporate governance issues, fiduciary duty, professional negligence, securities law violations, state and local taxation, and a variety of other business issues.

Bill has also been involved in business counseling in a variety of areas, particularly antitrust and employment law.  He has lectured clients and others in matters relating to product distribution, employment discrimination, and wrongful discharge.

Among the reported cases in which he has represented clients are:

• AT&T Communs. of Md., Inc. v. Comptroller of the Treasury, 405 Md. 83 (2008), reversing 176 Md. App. 22 (2007)
• Jordan v. Alternative Res. Corp. and IBM Corp., 447 F.3d 324 (4th Cir. 2006); on rehearing, 458 F.3d 332 (4th Cir. 2006); rehearing en banc denied, 467 F.3d 378 (4th Cir. 2006); cert. denied, 127 S. Ct. 2036 (2007)
• Rouse-Teachers Props. v. Maryland Cas. Co., 358 Md. 575 (1999)
• Mike Smith Pontiac, Inc. v. Mercedes-Benz, Inc., 356 Md. 542 (1998), affirming 123 Md. App. 498 (1998)
• L&P Converters v. Alling & Cory Co., 100 Md. App. 563 (1993)
• Mercedes-Benz of N. Am. v. Garten, 94 Md. App. 547 (1992)
• Herbig v. IBM Corp., 796 F. Supp. 865 (D. Md. 1992)
• Metrix Warehouse, Inc. v. Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft, 828 F.2d 1033 (4th Cir. 1987)
• Alphin Aircraft v. Henson, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15205; 1984-2 Trade Cas. (CCH) P66, 161 (July 5, 1984) 
• Metrix Warehouse, Inc. v. Daimler-Benz Aktiengellschaft, 716 F.2d 245 (4th Cir. 1983)
• Phillips v. Crown Central Petroleum Corp., 602 F.2d 616 (4th Cir. 1979)
• Carl, Inc. v. BP Oil Corp., 554 F.2d 623 (4th Cir. 1977)

Community Service

Bill has served the Baltimore community for more than 40 years. In addition to mentoring young attorneys, he serves as a member of the Peer Review Panel of the Attorney Grievance Commission, as a voluntary settlement attorney for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and as a trustee and life fellow of the Baltimore Bar Foundation, a grant-making charitable organization. He is currently on a panel serving as a settlement conference attorney for the District Court of Marland's ADR office. 

He also provides legal service to the community through pro bono work.  In 2013 for instance, he represented the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault and 26 other such state coalitions, in an important Fourth Amendment case before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a Maryland court decision holding that DNA testing of arrestees was unconstitutional.  He authored an amicus brief in support of that cause.  On June 3, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Maryland law, accepting the positions taken by the coalitions and other amici. 

Leadership

Bill has been appointed a Fellow of the Baltimore Bar Foundation, the Maryland Bar Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation.  He is a member of the Antitrust and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association, the Litigation Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, and the Bar Association of Baltimore City.  From 1990-2016, he served as a Trustee of the Baltimore Bar Foundation.

In 2013 and 2014, Best Lawyers recognized him for his commercial litigation practice.  Since 2010, he has received recognition for his work in the areas of antitrust and commercial litigation by Benchmark Litigation, a publication of Euromoney/Legal Media Group.  The guide focuses exclusively on leading U.S. litigation firms and attorneys.  Since 2007, Maryland Super Lawyers has recognized him for his business litigation practice.  He is AV® Peer Review Rated – the highest possible peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  He has also been listed among the top 25 lawyers in the Baltimore area by the Baltimore Business Journal in its “Who's Who in Law” issue.

In 2021, the Bar Association of Baltimore City recognized Bill for 50 years of practicing law and serving both the Baltimore legal profession and the community at large.