Rule 2-305 of the Maryland Rules of Civil Procedure was recently amended to prohibit a party from praying for a specific amount of money damages in excess of $75,000.00.  For claims less than $75,000.00, a party is required to plead a specific dollar amount.   The $75,000.00 figure was used in the rule since it is the minimum amount required to …

Worsham v. Greenfield, 2013 Md.  LEXIS 823, No. 139, Sept. Term, 2009 (October 23, 2013) In this long-awaited decision, the Court of Appeals of Maryland ruled that, pursuant to Maryland Rule 1-341, litigation costs may be awarded to a defendant who is forced to defend itself against claims brought without substantial justification, even if the actual costs of the defense were paid for …

In this case, the Court of Appeals re-affirmed that the defenses of assumption of risk and contributory negligence are separate and distinct and usually require separate questions on a special verdict form.  In doing so, the Court reversed a decision of the Court of Special Appeals that had affirmed a trial court’s decision to withhold from the verdict sheet a question …

Warr v. JMGM Group, LLC, 433 Md. 170, 70 A.3d 347 (2013) The Maryland Court of Appeals has again decided that Maryland does not recognize dram shop liability.  However, in this case, the basis for the Court’s decision was not a lack of proximate cause, but it was the absence of duty on the part of the tavern to prevent harm …