Request for Jury Trial in Maryland Lawsuits May Be Raised to $15,000

Maryland voters will get the chance to decide in November whether to raise the minimum amount that must be at stake in a lawsuit for the parties to request a jury trial.

This week, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that places a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would raise the minimum amount in a civil lawsuit from $10,000 to $15,000 in order to qualify for a Maryland jury trial. If passed, this would prevent insurance companies from requesting a jury trial in many Maryland auto accident lawsuits, which they often do to delay resolution of the claim and increase litigation costs for plaintiffs by dragging out the process.

Increasing the minimum amount necessary for a jury trial to $15,000 will allow many personal injury cases involving smaller claims to be resolved before a judge in the District Court, where cases are set for trial much quicker and involve less pre-trial discovery. Being able to have a trial before a Maryland District Court judge also allows a case to be heard within a few hours, instead of dragging the same case out for several days before a jury.

Allowing Maryland auto accident victims with smaller cases to keep their lawsuits in the District Court will also allow them to force insurance companies to pay fair compensation, instead of feeling like they have no choice but to accept a bad settlement offer because they do not want to end up in a long legal battle before a jury.

The amendment will require a 2/3 majority of voters before it can be approved, and the Maryland personal injury lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. encourage individuals to support this measure.