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Inn owner takes long view of comeback
7th District landmark caught up in lawsuit
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN
The Brambly Inn sits near a main thoroughfare through the Longview Beach community.
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It's not easy to keep a landmark institution like the Brambly Inn in the Longview Beach community going, but the woman living there knows a good bit about longevity.
Viola Gardner is 96, and while she's recuperating from a touch of illness, she has plans to welcome back the 7th District neighborhood's summertime residents; more specifically their guests who need a place to stay.
The tasks under way include more than repairs and upkeep, however, as Gardner currently is involved in a lawsuit she filed last fall against a Prince George's County couple.
Gardner's lawsuit alleges that Theodore Newkirk Jr. and Gladys Newkirk of Clinton got Gardner to give them two-thirds interest in the property by a "false representation" that he needed to be on its title to get permits to do renovations. The Newkirks filed a counter-complaint this month, stating that Gardner conveyed the two-thirds interest in exchange for the improvements and management they would provide.
A trial is scheduled for next September in the civil dispute. Gardner is seeking a ruling that the Newkirks convey all of their interest in the property back to her, while the Newkirks' counterclaim seeks $250,000 from Gardner in contribution toward the couple's expenses, including property taxes they paid. The couple's filing also states that Gardner has gained $250,000 from the improved market value of the property as a result of their work.
The Brambly Inn property consists of a main house and eight smaller residential cabins, court papers state. The title transfer and work on the main house began after Gardner decided in late 2008 that she wanted to leave the retirement community where she was staying in Leonardtown, and move back to the inn.
"It's been in their family for a number of years," Thomas McManus, Gardner's lawyer, said when the lawsuit was filed.
Gardner said her return to Brambly about a year ago was as much about elbow room as it was homesickness.
"I prefer living at home. I couldn't be cooped up," she said last week. "I have plenty of space here."
Gardner's lawsuit states that she intended only to convey equitable title to the property, and never its legal title, to the Newkirks, who are not relatives of her. The Newkirks' counterclaim states that the land's property taxes were in arrears, that it was in disrepair, and that the agreement giving Gardner a "life estate" to stay there led to improvements inside and out including handicap access.
The Newkirks kept paying the taxes and other major expenses, their counterclaim states, until Gardner obtained a no-trespassing notice last September. The Newkirks had bought insurance for the main house, but they objected to the idea of renting out the cabins because those structures did not have insurance coverage.
Gardner said she focuses in the winter months on accommodations in the main house.
"I keep that one going, the upper level," she said. "I do most of my business during the summer. It's usually summertime when they [the residents] have guests, and they don't have space in their homes."
She said she'll get to work on the cottages come spring.
"I am trying, but I haven't been too well, so I have to wait," she said. "I can't get around and do some of the things that I normally do."
But it's hard for Gardner to slow down.
"I still work with Christmas in April," she said. "I try to help as much as I can."
