Inside District Court


Google and MySpace can be terrific and free tools when trying to locate a judgment debtor’s current place of employment. It is also helpful to check www.fedsdatacenter.com to verify whether a judgment debtor is a federal employee, particularly because the only information required to conduct a search is the individual’s name. Another benefit of the www.fedsdatacenter.com website is that it provides recent salary information of federal employees. Monthly Creditor Reports – If you are successful in


obtaining a garnishment on a judgment debtor’s wages, it is imperative to remember that you have a continuing obligation to maintain an accounting of payments received for the duration of the garnishment. Pursuant to Maryland Rule 3-646, you are required to prepare a Monthly Creditor Report (“MCR”) disclosing all payments received from any source for the account of the judgment debtor including the manner in which each payment was credited. Judgment Creditors must prepare MCR’s within 15 days after the end of each month in which one or more payments are received (e.g. MCR for payments received by a judgment creditor in the month of April 2012 must be completed by May 15, 2012). (Id.) While MCR’s do not get filed with the court, a copy must be mailed to the garnishee and to the judgment debtor. Te judgment creditor must retain a copy of each MCR until 90 days after the termination of the garnishment proceeding and make it available for inspection upon request by any party or by the court.8


Interest Rates Te Maryland Constitution establishes the legal rate of


interest at Six Percent (6%) per annum.5 Generally, a plaintiff may


request an award of prejudgment interest at the constitutional rate when the obligation owed is for a sum certain and when a written agreement specifically provides for the payment of interest in the event of default.6


Jury Demands A party in a civil action is entitled to a jury trial if the


amount in controversy is more than $15,000, exclusive of attorney’s fees.9


Pursuant to Maryland Code,


Courts and Judicial Proceedings, §11-107, the legal rate of interest on a money judgment is Ten Percent (10%) per annum. However, District Court practitioners should be aware that there are exceptions to the 10% post-judgment interest rate. For example, the interest on a money judgment for rent of residential premises is capped at Six Percent (6%) per annum.7 Finally, keep in mind that the court may assess pre-judgment or post-judgment interest at a higher rate if that higher interest rate is expressly provided for by contract.


Wage Garnishments Maryland Rule 3-646 sets forth the procedures for


initiating a garnishment on the wages of a judgment debtor. Social networking websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter,


5 Article III §57. 6 I. W. Berman Properties v. Porter Bros., Inc., 276 Md. 1, 344 A.2d 65 (1975). 7 Maryland Rule 11-107(b).


40 Trial Reporter / Summer 2012 A plaintiff seeking a jury trial must make its


request contemporaneously with the filing of its complaint. A defendant, counter-defendant, cross-defendant or other third party must file a jury demand within ten (10) days after the time for filing a notice of intention to defend.10


Servicemembers Civil Relief Act11 When requesting a default or affidavit judgment, a plaintiff


is required to file an affidavit stating whether or not the defendant is in the military service. Te plaintiff is further obligated under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide necessary facts to support the affidavit for each named defendant in the case. In order to comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a plaintiff must complete and sign the “Military Service Affidavit” on DC/CV 1 form (available on the Maryland Judiciary’s


8 Maryland Rule 3-646(j)(2). 9 MD Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, §4-402(e). 10 Maryland Rule 3-325(a). 11 50 U.S.C. App. § 501 et seq. (2003).


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