Mark Oakley

Mark W. Oakley is an established litigation attorney concentrating on civil litigation, personal injury, construction law, and criminal and traffic defense. He also advises business clients, negotiates and drafts contracts, and handles a variety of litigation matters at all levels of the state and federal court systems. Mr. Oakley is trained and certified in the collaborative practice of law. Mr. Oakley is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law (J.D. 1987), and the University of Maryland, College Park (B.A. 1984). He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar, and the Bar Association of Montgomery County. He is admitted to practice before the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Authored the winning brief in the case of 1986 Mercedes v. State of Maryland, a precedent-setting decision limiting the State’s power to forfeit private property.

• Free Consultation
• Credit Cards Accepted
  Visa, MasterCard, Discover
• Contingent Fees
  I handle personal injury claims on a contingent fee basis, meaning if there is no recovery, you do not owe me a legal fee.

District of Columbia

District of Columbia Bar

Since 1989

Maryland

Since 1988

University of Maryland - Baltimore

J.D. (1987) | Law

1984 - 1987

University of Maryland - College Park

B.A. (1984) | English

1980 - 1984

District of Columbia Bar

Member

1989 - Current

Maryland State Bar Association

Member

1988 - Current

Bar Association of Montgomery County

Member

1988 - Current

Q. How to reclaim a vehicle paid for, but in ex-boyfriend's name, with possession conflict.

July 30, 2025

A: A court is not likely to order a transfer of title, as I do not believe they can legally order a vehicle title transfer in this situation, but you can sue for the value of the car or the money you paid toward the car, and get a judgment. If you really want the car, and not money, then you probably would need to present evidence of an agreement that he was only a “nominal” owner with an understanding he would transfer legal title to you upon demand, and then sue for “specific performance” of that agreement. Of course, to settle either claim, he could agree to just sign the title over to you. You are allowed to sue under both theories of recovery, “in the alternative,” but you can only get one or the other form of relief. If the Court grants specific performance, and he still refuses to sign the title over, the court can appoint a trustee to sign the title for him, or possibly hold him in contempt of court for disobeying the order and jail him until he does. ... Read More

Q. I permitted someone to use my name for co-signing a car loan, and they signed as the buyer. The car was stolen, and I'm asked to pay the loan. Is this forgery or identity theft?

July 30, 2025

A: “I gave someone permission via text message to use my name to co-sign for a car loan.”

This makes you a knowing participant in this loan and apparently authorized your friend to sign for you, and bind you personally on the loan. Whether a court would let you avoid liability for your friend signing your name based on your authorization, is something you will have to find out after a trial. You certainly do not come into court with “clean hands” in this transaction. If your only complaint is that your friend didn’t also make themselves co-liable on the loan, then that would not relieve you of liability that you voluntarily undertook by agreement in advance. You can and should sue your friend for breach of your agreement, and perhaps fraud against you for only putting your name on the loan, but I do not believe you have standing to raise fraud as a grounds to avoid liability on a loan you authorized to be taken out in your name, even if you expected your friend to be co-liable on it. Of course, if you contend you did not authorize your friend to sign your name, and you expected to be given an opportunity to review the loan terms and reject the loan if you deemed it unacceptable, then you would have an argument that this was unauthorized and since it’s not your signature, it is fraud by your friend. ... Read More

Q. Is facility liable for my flat tire from hitting rock while driving wrong way?

July 30, 2025

A: You have not described sufficient facts to establish that the rock you hit was in the travel portion of the driveway, and by reason of its placement at that location posed an obvious and unreasonable risk of injury or damage to vehicles using the driveway; that it was not reasonably visible to users of the driveway so as to be avoided with ordinary prudence; that it was deliberately or knowingly placed there by the facility, or if not placed there by the facility, was known to be there or should have been known to be there based on how long it was at that location.

Driving the wrong way may be totally irrelevant, as this is a private driveway and the mistake you made would not seem to have any relevance to the happening of the accident. Plus, if the signage is confusing or inadequate then that can potentially negate any argument event if it qualified as a defense. However, that’s a matter for trial.

The problem is that this is a small dollar claim, so no lawyer is going to take this case —or you will pay fees far exceeding the amount you can recover. If you have collision coverage, you can make a claim under your auto policy, but you’d have to pay your deductible. I doubt the amount of the claim would justify your insurance carrier filing a subrogation claim against the facility to recover what it paid to you to repair the wheel and recover your deductible. That leaves you with suing the facility in Small Claims Court. Whether that is worth your time, money (filing fees, service of process fees) and effort, is up to you. ... Read More