Maryland Accident Lawyer Analysis of
Davis v. Slater, 383 Md. 599, 861 A.2d 78 (2004)

Background


       In most serious personal injury cases in Maryland, our lawyers rarely debate which court a personal injury lawsuit on our injured client’s behalf should be filed. Invariably, most of these cases are filed in a Maryland circuit court in the county where the accident took place or where the defendant lives. In rare instances, personal injury cases can be filed in the U.S. District Court in Maryland (a federal court), which has locations in Greenbelt, Maryland and Baltimore, Maryland. These courts allow lawyers representing personal injury plaintiffs the best opportunity to seek the highest recovery for the client.

       In smaller personal injury cases, however, lawyers often debate as to where the case should be filed. In these cases, a viable option is filing in a local Maryland state district court, again, in the county where the accident occurred or where the defendant lives. There are three primary advantages to filing in district court:

       First, the plaintiff typically will receive a trial date in most state district courts in three to six months as opposed to the ten to eighteen months it usually takes in Maryland's circuit courts. For some clients who want compensation for their injuries as soon as possible, an earlier trial date is important. (Also, the cost of filing a personal injury lawsuit is also only $10.00, as opposed to $100.00 in circuit court)

       Second, in district court in a personal injury case (see James v. Butler), medical records can be admitted at trial without the need for the testimony of a medical doctor at trial under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code Section 10-104. (This is also the case in circuit court if the case has been filed for $25,000.00 or less) In circuit court, where more than $25,000.00 is at issue, in order to introduce medical bills or records, the testimony of a medical doctor is required to testify that the medical bills and treatment were “fair, reasonable, medically necessary and causally related to plaintiff's injuries.” This can, at times, be the main determining factor in where to file, because most doctors charge thousands of dollars to come to court and testify about patients' injuries. Sometimes the doctor’s fee to testify is greater than the amount the case itself is worth!

       Finally, the discovery allowed in district court is far more restrictive which makes the case less burdensome for the plaintiff in a smaller case. There is no mechanism available in district court for depositions (sworn, oral testimony taken through questioning by the other side's attorney) and defense medical exams (an examination by a physician chosen by the other side's attorney for purposes of disputing the personal injuries claimed by the plaintiff). Instead, the parties are limited primarily to propounding fifteen interrogatories (questions) to the other party about the details of
the case they intend to present at trial.

       There are two salient downsides to district court in Maryland. Because the maximum a plaintiff can receive in district court is $25,000, it is a viable option to a lawyer whose client has suffered a relatively minor injury. In a serious car accident, medical malpractice or wrongful death case, this is not a real option for a Plaintiff seeking a fair recovery. District court trials are also decided by a judge, which deprives a plaintiff the opportunity to receive compensation from a jury of his/her peers.

       Because a circuit court case is more costly for plaintiffs and because in some jurisdictions defense lawyers believe that a jury may give them a better outcome than a district court judge, defendants will seek to remove some of these personal injury cases from district court to circuit court. Defendants can only do this in cases where the amount sought by the plaintiff exceeds $10,000. Accordingly, in particularly small personal injury cases – usually small car accidents – most Maryland personal injury lawyers will often file for only $10,000 so the defendant cannot remove the case to circuit court. The rules governing how and when this can be done is the subject of the Davis case.

Davis v. Slater

       In Davis, the plaintiff was injured in a car accident when, while stopped at a red light just beyond the off-ramp from I-695 on Moravia Road in Baltimore County, Maryland, he was rear-ended by the defendant. His lawyer brought a lawsuit claiming damages for his client’s personal injuries in a Maryland district court. The attorney for the defendant driver who caused the car accident sought to remove the case pursuant to Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 4-402(e)(1), and the case was transferred to the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore County. After discovery, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint reducing his ad damnum (amount of damages sought) to $10,000. Plaintiff then sought to strike the jury demand made by the defendant. Judge Ruth A. Jakubowski denied Plaintiff’s motion.

       On appeal to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, after a verdict of a measly $727.03, Plaintiff argued that that the trial court erred as a matter of law when it held that the driver was entitled to a jury trial when the amount sought by the Plaintiff no longer greater than $10,000. Plaintiff reasoned that because the right to a jury trial was gained only because of the amount in controversy, his reduction of the amount in controversy divested the driver of her entitlement to a jury trial. The court disagreed and, upon finding that the Maryland General Assembly had never abrogated the common law entitlement to a jury, held that § 4-402(e)(1) did not abrogate the common law entitlement to a jury trial when the amount in controversy failed to exceed $ 10,000.

       The Court of Appeals first traced the common law history of a plaintiff’s right to a jury, and explored a party’s right to a jury. At common law, the right to trial by jury attached to all civil matters, regardless of the amount in controversy. From this, the court deduces that because English common law was subsumed into the Maryland Constitution, parties have a right to a jury trial in circuit court regardless of the amount in controversy.

Take Home Message for Auto Accident Clients and Personal Injury Lawyers

       Davis settles the question of whether you can alter the ad damnum amount to terminate defendant’s right to a jury trial. Under this holding, any party in circuit court can plead a jury trial, regardless of the amount in controversy.

       In light of this holding, if a plaintiff is going to file in circuit court but still seek to introduce medical records under 10-104 (without the testimony of a doctor), he/she may as well file for $25,000 because all parties in circuit court have a right to a jury trial.

       This case underscores the strategic decisions a personal injury lawyer and her/his client must make in determining in which court the plaintiff should file. Practically speaking, most defense lawyers in the garden-variety soft tissue personal injury car accident case do not request a jury trial. When the case is filed in district court, the plaintiff is absolutely limited to the $25,000.00 jurisdictional limit of the court (meaning, a district court judge cannot award even a penny more than $25,000.00). If a case is moved to the circuit court, the plaintiff has an opportunity to amend her/his complaint and ask for more than the $25,000.00 cap that district court provides. Many personal injury defendants only have insurance policy limits/coverage for $25,000.00 and would therefore be personally exposed to payment of the portion of the jury’s award that exceeds their insurance policy limit. This risk is usually the number one reason why a case remains in district court when it could otherwise be moved to the circuit court. (From a defense perspective, the reasons to move the case would be in order to conduct more extensive discovery and the view that a jury would produce a more favorable result for the defendant for some reason). Likewise, sometimes it can be a tactical decision for a plaintiff to file in circuit court for an amount greater than the defendant’s personal injury policy limit so that pressure is placed on the defendant’s insurance carrier to offer the policy limits and avoid the chance of an excess verdict (verdict greater than the policy limit) against the defendant/their insured.

 

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