Inside District Court
How to Keep Your Case in the District Court
Stuart L. Lipshutz
claimed and the economics of the case. Tis article focuses on the jurisdiction of the District Court and how to make sure your case is not transferred or otherwise removed for various reasons,
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misstatement of the ad damnum clause, multiple claimants and underinsured motorist issues.
Jurisdictional Amounts
Te District Court of Maryland was created by an amendment to the Maryland Constitution and came into existence on July 5, 1971. It is a fully state-funded court of record possessing statewide jurisdiction. Te jurisdiction of the court includes all landlord-tenant cases, replevin actions, personal injury actions, motor vehicle violations, misdemeanors and certain felonies. As most of you know, in civil cases the District Court has
exclusive jurisdiction in claims for amounts up to $5,000.00, and concurrent jurisdiction with the Circuit Courts in claims for amounts above $5,000.00 but less than $30,000.00. Te District Court does not conduct jury trials. Te amount claimed for jurisdictional purposes is exclusive of attorney’s fees, prejudgment, post judgment interest and costs pursuant to CJP § 4-401(1). Due in large part to the efforts of the MAJ, it is now
possible to admit medical records and bills without witness testimony by using the procedure set forth in CJP § 10- 104. Indeed, using CJP § 10-104 is a great tool to save time, money and simplifies the handling of personal injury cases. Beware however, that actions that are filed in the District Court for more than $15,000.00 are subject to a jury demand
by the defendant and transfer to the Circuit Court. See CJP § 4-402 (e)(2). Terefore, a practitioner should carefully weigh the decision of suing for an amount in excess of $15,000.00 before filing in the District Court.
A good practice tip is to always advise the client of the possibility of the case being transferred to Circuit Court before filing in the District for more than $15,000.00. Otherwise you may encounter client frustration and difficulty when they learn it will take another year to resolve the case in the Circuit Court.
Te timing of the defendant’s jury demand should also be
considered if your case is subject to removal. Maryland Rule 3-325(a)(2) requires the filing of a separate written demand within ten days after the time for filing a notice of intention to defend. If the defendant fails to comply with this time requirement, a motion to strike the jury demand should be
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any cases are not only better candidates for the District court, but just flat out belong there due to the nature of the injuries, the amount of damages
including exceeding the jurisdictional amount,
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