Overview
Diane Feuerherd chairs the litigation practice at Miller, Miller & Canby. She is an appellate and trial attorney, focusing on business, estate, real estate and eminent domain litigation in the Maryland state and federal courts. Her clients, which include families, small businesses, and large corporations, trust and credit her thorough preparation, advocacy and candor, in taking a case from the initial meeting through trial, any appeal, and successful resolution.
Known in Maryland for her appellate work, Diane completed a two-term appellate clerkship with the Honorable Lynne A. Battaglia of the Supreme Court of Maryland before joining the firm in the fall of 2013. Her work includes referrals from other attorneys as well as amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs, before the state and federal appellate courts. She serves as a contributing editor for the Maryland State Bar Association’s (MSBA’s) Maryland Appellate Blog and is a contributing author to the treatise Appellate Practice for the Maryland Lawyer: State and Federal.
Outside of the courtroom, Diane has remained dedicated to serving and improving the legal profession, at the local, state and national level, for the benefit of attorneys and the community at large. In 2023, Governor Wes Moore appointed Diane to the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for the State of Maryland. She also holds leadership positions in the Maryland Bar Foundation, the Bar Association for Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Inns of Court. In addition, she is active in several other bar organizations, including the Owners’ Counsel of America, a national network of experienced eminent domain attorneys who represent property owners.
A native of Montgomery County, she obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and then graduated summa cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She lives in Rockville with her husband and two children.
Testimonials
Practice Areas
Professional Affiliations
- Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for the State of Maryland, 2023-present
- Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA)
- Maryland Appellate Blog, Editor (2023-present, previously Blog Manager)
- Judicial Appointments Committee, Co-Chair (2018 – 2022), At-Large Member (2015-present)
- Maryland Bar Foundation
- Board Member, 2019-present
- Secretary, 2022-2024
- Treasurer, 2024-present
- Montgomery County Inns of Court, Barrister & At-Large Board Member
- Cole-Davidson Inn of Court
- Bar Association of Montgomery County
- Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, 2024-present
- Executive Committee, 2022-2024
- Judicial Selections Committee, 2021 – 2023
- Owners’ Counsel of America, Associate Member
- Peer Review Committee of the Attorney Grievance Commission, 2020-present
- Committee to Elect Sitting Judges, Montgomery County Slate, 2017-2018
- Member, Judicial Council Work Group on Judicial Social Media Policy, 2016
- Finding Justice Project Subcommittee of the WBA Foundation, Editorial & Development Committees for the publication of Finding Justice: A History of Women Lawyers in Maryland since 1642 (2013-2015)
Education
- University of Baltimore, J.D. summa cum laude, 2011
- University of Baltimore Law Review, Production Editor
- Thomas Tang Moot Court Team
- Law Achievement Scholar
- Book Award, Professional Responsibility
- University of Maryland, B.S. International Business, 2008
Clerkships
- The Honorable Lynne A. Battaglia, Court of Appeals of Maryland (now the Supreme Court of Maryland), 2011-2013
Honors and Awards
- Montgomery County Bar Foundation, Bar Leader
- Maryland Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Super Lawyers, Maryland, 2023-2025
- Super Lawyers Rising Star in Maryland and the District of Columbia, 2016-2022
- Maryland State Bar Association, Leadership Academy Fellow
- Heuisler Honor Society, top 10% of the graduating class of the University of Baltimore School of Law
- Outstanding Student Award, Clinical Legal Education Association (2011)
- Daily Record VIP Award, 2020
- Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch”, 2022
- Best Lawyers, 2023-2025
Appellate Decisions
- Montgomery County v. Phillips, 445 Md. 55 (2015) (partial refund of agricultural land transfer tax)
- Global Mission Church of Greater Washington, SBC v. Sappe (Case No. 4, Sept. Term 2014) (restrictive covenants)
- Van Dusen v. Prywes, et al. (Case No. 43, Sept. Term 2014) (tortious invasion of privacy)
- Supervisor of Assessments of Montgomery County, et al. v. Polinger (Case No. 2608, Sept. Term 2015) (Refund of real property transfer taxes)
- Robert Millstone, et al. v. Montgomery County Board of Appeals, et al. (Case No. 02413, Sept. Term 2016 and Case No. 811, Sept. Term 2017) (Use and occupancy permits).
- Sakaria v. Prince George’s County, Maryland (Case No. 02362, Sept. Term 2016) (successful challenge to historic preservation designation)
- Poss v. Tomares (Case No. CSA-REG-2483-2018, Sept. Term 2018) (Real property; Road access)
- Simon v. Bushell (Case No. CSA-REG-3498-2018) (Estate litigation)
- Werner v. Paramount Construction, Inc. (CSA-REG-2401-2019) (Quiet title action)
- Gazmen v. Steven M. Shimoura, M.D., PA (CSA-REG-2072-2019) (Constructive fraud action)
Publications
- Motions Practice in the State Appellate Courts" Chapter, in Appellate Practice for the Maryland Lawyer: State and Federal (Sandler, Levy & Klepper eds., Fifth Edition, 2019) (co-authored with James L. Thompson, Esq.)
- Diane Norcross, Comment, Separating the Employee From the Citizen: The Social Science Implications of Garcetti v. Ceballos, 40 U. Balt. L. Rev. 543 (2011).
Representative Cases
Baltimore City v. Kevin Davenport
Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Case No. 24C18005103: Ms. Feuerherd represented a couple who had owned and operated and/or leased a corner grocery store for more than 25 years, before Baltimore City targeted the property for condemnation. Prior to the jury trial, the City’s offer to purchase the property was just $36,000. But the grocery store was income-producing rental property, with a second floor having potential for residential apartments; capitalizing on this value, Ms. Feuerherd successfully persuaded the jury to return a verdict of $196,250.
Chod v. Montgomery County Board of Appeals
Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Case No. 398704-V: On behalf of a local commercial property owner, Ms. Feuerherd challenged the Water Quality Protection Charge (also known as a “rain tax”), through the administrative appeals process to a successful appeal in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County.
Montgomery County v. Phillips
445 Md. 55 (2015): Before the Court of Appeals of Maryland, Ms. Feuerherd briefed and argued on behalf of owners of a family farm, and persuaded a majority of the Court that Montgomery County overcharged its farmland transfer tax in violation of the state tax cap.
Tomares, et ux. v. Poss, et al.
Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Case No. 418365V: A family retained Ms. Feuerherd and Miller, Miller & Canby after an old gravel road, which provided the sole access to their property, was cut off by a neighbor who challenged that the road was a private driveway. Navigating through 230 years of state, county and railroad records and title history, together with a myriad of expert and lay witness testimony and complex legal issues, Ms. Feuerherd successfully proved that the gravel road was indeed a public road dating back to 1793.
DISCLAIMER: THE CASES AND RESULTS DESCRIBED HEREIN ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF PAST RESULTS OBTAINED BY MILLER, MILLER & CANBY, AND ITS ATTORNEYS. PAST CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS. ALL CASES ARE DISTINCT AND HAVE UNIQUE FACTS, CIRCUMSTANCES AND LEGAL QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE CONSIDERED AND EVALUATED ON THEIR OWN MERIT.