Which District Court Rules apply to my case?
The details on how the court process will
work (called “procedure”) are found in the Maryland Court
Rules. The Maryland Court Rules that apply to cases
described in this Guide are called “Title
3 Civil Procedure – District Court”.
- in other words the Rules for criminal
cases and for the Circuit Courts are found in other
places.
- Small claims and
landlord-tenant cases are considered “special
proceedings “ under the District Court Rules.
Here is why this is important in your
research.
Under the general District Court Rules, there are several
types of legal disputes that are considered “special
proceedings”. In some areas, these special proceedings each
have their own rules.
- You will find the special rules for
small claims in
MD Rule 3-701.
- You will find the special rules for
landlord tenant in
MD Rule 3-711.
Generally the District Court Rules apply
to every case in District Court. This is true except where
there is a special rule under the section on these “special
proceedings”.
- If your case is a small claim, there
are special rules that apply to your case. The court
trial will be much more informal under these special
rules. If there is no special rule on a certain issue,
then the general rules apply.
- If your case is a large claim or some
other type of case that belongs in
District Court, the other general Rules under Title
3 apply to you. The “small claims special proceeding
rules do not apply to your case.
For example,
Special Rule MD 3-701(e) says that there will be no
discovery allowed in small claims cases (i.e. $5,000 or
under is in dispute) Yet if your claim is for only $50 more
($5,050), discovery is allowed under the regular District
Court rules. See
Chapter 400-Discovery of
Title 3 Civil Procedure – District. What this means for
your case is that much more complicated rules will apply.
You need to be prepared.
|
