Maryland’s intermediate appellate court has confirmed that the amount claimed by a plaintiff is what triggers the right to a civil trial by jury, not the amount claimed by a defendant asserting a counterclaim

If the need for firm compliance with the Federal Tort Claims Act was ever in doubt, a recent opinion from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates how fatal non-compliance can be.

Presently, Maryland is one of only five “contributory negligence” states, meaning that in a negligence action, a plaintiff who was in any way negligent is barred from recovery, even when the plaintiff was only “1% negligent.”  That may soon change.

Earlier this month, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals held that a parent may not legally bind his or her minor child to a pre-injury release of tort liability in favor of a commercial enterprise.