Why not asking the author of this code? No one else can be help responsible for a solution in someone else's code.
The first thing which comes to my mind would be: due to the sloppiness of the developer. I see no reasons why such method should be static. Please see:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/byxd99hx%28v=vs.90%29.aspx[
^].
Some
disclaimer: when I say "first thing which comes to my mind", I mean it. I cannot claim the code is really sloppy. This is just seems to be a generally bad sign to me, but the author could have a good reason. My main point is: it's a wrong idea to ask some strangers to explain the code they did not write. Instead, please learn the topic properly using the documentation I referenced.
—SA