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description: Joseph Cammarata argues before the Maryland Supreme Court in Torney v. Towson University, a landmark premises liability case testing the foreseeability standard for landowner liability.
title: Joseph Cammarata Argues Before Maryland Supreme Court in Landmark Premises Liability Case - Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.
---
Joseph Cammarata Argues Before Maryland Supreme Court in Landmark Premises Liability Case - Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	

			
			

		
		

		
				
			
					
		
		
		
				
				
									
					
						
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# Joseph Cammarata Argues Before Maryland Supreme Court in Landmark Premises Liability Case
				
				
				
				
					

**Premises liability law turns on a single question: When a landowner is aware of danger on its property and has the ability to intervene — but chooses not to — does inaction constitute negligence?** That question went before Maryland’s highest court on April 9, 2026, when Joseph Cammarata argued *Torney v. Towson University*, a case that could reshape how universities (and all landowners) answer for safety failures. The case tests whether foreseeability means you must predict the exact mechanism of harm, or whether it means anticipating that *some* form of harm could occur when conditions are escalating and untrained.

Cammarata’s core argument was direct: The university had police officers present, visible signs of escalating danger, and officers recommending shutdown — yet leadership directed them to stand down. The university’s own internal investigation later suspended the supervising officer for failing to act. If trained police should have recognized the danger, how can the law excuse the university’s deliberate inaction? The Supreme Court’s decision, expected later this year, will determine whether *Torney’s* case proceeds to trial and what standard applies to institutions aware of risk on their property.

**[Read the full oral argument analysis and case details](https://www.chaikinandsherman.com/blog/2026/04/partner-joseph-cammarata-argues-before-the-supreme-court-of-maryland-in-landmark-premises-liability-case/)**

				
				
				
				
							
			
						
		
						
				
				
				
							

								
													
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				[Joseph Cammarata](https://www.chaikinandsherman.com/blog/attorney/joseph-cammarata/)				
					
								
				
													
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## [Partner Joseph Cammarata Argues Before the Supreme Court of Maryland in Landmark Premises Liability Case](https://www.chaikinandsherman.com/blog/2026/04/partner-joseph-cammarata-argues-before-the-supreme-court-of-maryland-in-landmark-premises-liability-case/)
				
				
				
				
							

							
											
													
										Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel
									
								
											
													
										April 14, 2026
									
								
											
													
										CSCS Blog
									
						

						
				
				
				
									Partner Joseph Cammarata argued before the Supreme Court of Maryland on April 9, 2026, in Catherine Torney v. Towson University — a premises liability case that could significantly shape the legal obligations of landowners, including universities, to protect individuals from foreseeable harm on their property.  Ms. Torney, a student, was injured in a September 3, 2021 shooting at an unsanctioned late-night gathering in Freedom Square where campus police officers were present but failed to intervene despite escalating conditions. The case asks whether the lower courts incorrectly applied Maryland premises liability law when they concluded that Towson University owed no duty of care to Ms. Torney.								
				
				
				
									
					
						
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