CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION CHARGES UNREGISTERED HOME BUILDER ON EASTERN SHORE

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has filed an administrative Statement of Charges alleging that Bayly Crossing, L.L.C. and its principals, Theodore B. Passyn, Julia Beall Passyn, and Theodore B. Passyn, III, operated as a home builder at the Bayly Crossing subdivision in Dorchester County without being registered with the Division’s Home Builder Registration Unit.

The charges allege that Bayly Crossing and the Passyns violated Maryland’s Home Builder Registration Act and Consumer Protection Act by acting as a new home builder without being registered. The charges also allege that the Passyns violated a July 17, 2003 Consent Order entered into with the Division that prohibits them from acting as a home builder in Maryland without having first registered with the Home Builder Registration Unit.

The Division is seeking an order requiring Bayly Crossing, LLC and the Passyns to cease and desist from the alleged violations and to pay restitution to consumers, civil penalties and the costs of the action.

" Maryland law seeks to provide protection to consumers by requiring that builders who construct or sell new homes meet certain registration requirements and register with the Unit," Curran said. Curran added that more than 3,500 Maryland builders are currently registered with his Home Builder Registration Unit. Consumers can check whether their builder is registered by checking the Attorney General’s website at www.oag.state.md.us/homebuilder, or by calling 410-576-6573 in the Baltimore area or toll-free at 1-877-259-4525 elsewhere in Maryland.

A hearing on the Division’s charges is scheduled for September 13, 2005 before an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings at 11101 Gilroy Road in Hunt Valley. Consumers who have complaints about Bayly Crossing, LLC or the Passyns may contact the Division at (410) 576-6561.

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