418                               Laws of Maryland                        [Ch. 321

wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or
determination appealed from and make such order, requirement,
decision or determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall
have all the powers of the officer from Whom the appeal is taken.

(i) Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any
decision of the Board of Appeals, or any taxpayer, or any officer,
department, board, bureau of the municipality, may present to the
circuit court of the county, a petition, duly verified, setting forth
that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the
grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the
court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision in the
office of the board.

(j) Upon the presentation of such petition the court may allow a
writ of certiorari directed to the Board of Appeals to review such
decision of the Board of Appeals and shall prescribe therein the time
within which a return thereto must be made and served upon the
relator's attorney, which shall not be less than ten (10) days and
may be extended by the court. The allowance of the writ shall not
stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the court
may, on application, on notice to the board and on due cause shown,
grant a restraining order.

(k) The Board of Appeals shall not be required to return the
original papers acted upon by it, but it shall be sufficient to return
certified or sworn copies thereof or of such portions thereof as may
be called for by such writ. The return shall concisely set forth such
other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of
the decision appealed from and shall be verified.

(l) If, upon the hearing, it shall appear to the court that testi-
mony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may
take evidence or appoint a referee to take such evidence as it may
direct and report the same to the court with his findings of fact and
conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings
upon which the determination of the court shall be made.

(m) Costs shall not be allowed against the board unless it shall
appear to the court that it acted with gross negligence, or in bad
faith, or with malice in making the decision appealed from.

(n) All issues in any proceeding under this section shall have
preference over all other civil actions and proceedings.

(o) Upon its determination of the case, the Circuit Court shall
file a formal order embodying its final decision. An appeal may be
taken to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, during the period and
in the manner prescribed by rules of the Court of Appeals, from any
decision of the Circuit Court reviewing a decision of the Board of
Appeals. In such cases the award of costs shall be subject to the dis-
cretion of the Court of Appeals.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
June 1, 1957.

Approved March 25, 1957.