In their briefs, the appellants alleged that the court had erred 1) by misinterpreting Miss Smith's promise as one to make a gift to a charity rather than as one to create a trust, 2) by misapplying standards to judge partial performance of a contract, and 3) by ignoring the distinction between a claim to part of an estate that could have been enforced before Miss Smith's death and a claim to the entirety of an estate that only could have been enforced after her death. A hearing was held before a panel of the Court of Special Appeals on March 5, 2001. On July 31, 2001, the court issued its opinion, rejecting the appeal.