Inside District Court
filed. You should request that the Court strike defendant’s prayer for jury trial and request that the District Court retain jurisdiction of this case.
Aggregated Claims Situation #1 - “I have four clients all in one car with somewhat
minor injuries. Will the case be transferred out of the District Court if I claim $15,000.00 in damages on behalf of each client?” An issue confronted by many practitioners is what to do if
you have multiple claimants with a combined total of damages in excess of $30,000.00. Tis is a settled area of law and Pollokoff v. Maryland Nat. Bank, 288 Md. 485, 418 A.2d 1201 (1980) can be relied on to keep your case in the District Court. In Pollokoff, the Court held that multiple plaintiffs, whose separate and distinct claims fell within exclusive original jurisdiction of district court, could not invoke original jurisdiction of the circuit court by joining in class action and aggregating their claims. Terefore, because separate and distinct claims of the plaintiffs did not exceed the amount of a district court claim, the circuit court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter. A practice tip here is to make sure that you are claiming
damages of $15,000 for each Plaintiff and to indicate same on the DC/CV1 form filed with your case and to use an ad damnum clause similar to the following:
Wherefore, the Plaintiffs, John and Jane Smith, demand judgment against the Defendant, in the sum of Fifteen Tousand Dollars ($15,000.00) as to each Plaintiff, besides costs.
Tis language should prevent the Clerk’s office or the
Court from refusing your multiple party complaint in the District Court.
UIM Claims Situation #2 - “I settled the claim with the at-fault driver
for $30,000.00 (policy limits) and now I want to recover another $15,000.00 of my client’s underinsured motorist coverage (“UIM”). Can I keep the case in District Court even though the total amount I seek for the client ($45,000.00) exceeds the jurisdictional limit?” Tere are differing opinions on whether a case can be
brought in the District Court directly against the UIM carrier for only UIM benefits as set forth in our scenario. Te issue may turn on the interpretation of Section 19-511 of the Insurance Article - uninsured motorist coverage - settlement procedures. However, there are few decisions interpreting this section, and none tackle this issue head-on. On the other hand, the issue may ultimately involve the
interpretation of the phrase "debt or damages claimed" in Section 4-401(1) of the CJP Article. Tat statute provides as follows:
Te District Court has exclusive original civil jurisdiction in:
(1) An action in contract or tort, if the debt or damages claimed do not exceed $30,000, exclusive of prejudgment or post judgment interest, costs and attorney’s fees…
In our scenario, it seems clear that the "debt or damages
claimed" are $15,000.00 and within the District Court’s jurisdiction. Te "debt", the amount that the client claims that the UIM carrier owes her is $15,000.00. As for the amount of "damages," a UIM contract is essentially a breach of contract action in which it is claimed that the insurer failed to comply with its contractual obligation to pay the UIM claim. Te "damages" claimed in our situation would be only $15,000.00. Yet, the statute only refers to what is "claimed" from the defendant before the court (in this situation, the UIM carrier). Unfortunately, the statute does not refer to the amount claimed previously from others who are not before the court (such as the at-fault party or tortfeasor in our situation that paid the $30,000.00). Although it is true that the plaintiff must prove the full
value of her case, the "full value of the case" does not equal the "damages claimed" in the UIM action. When the UIM carrier is accused of breaching a contract to pay the difference between the full value and the tortfeasor's policy limits, arguably that amount is the "damages claimed."
48 Trial Reporter / Summer 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68