Legal Question in Business Law in Maryland

While any lawsuit can be theoretically pursued by the plaintiff without legal representation, your success depends heavily on what the factual and legal basis for your claim is, and also on how much you are suing for. We have 2 trial court systems in Maryland, known as the Circuit Court and the District Court. Circuit is for suits seeking more than $30000. Either party can ask for a trial by jury, and there is a wide range of discovery available. Without any legal training or knowledge of the law, court rules or procedure, or how to present a case, it would be very difficult to do this, especially if your client is represented by an attorney. You would have to start by preparing a well-drafted complaint, setting forth the facts that file it with the clerk's office and serve it on the defendant in compliance with court rules. There will be a number of court deadlines and appearances required, and the case could take a long time.

In the District Court, there are forms you can fill out to file your complaint, and discovery is limited. Generally these cases are heard by a judge, although if the suit is for more than $15000, the defendant can request a jury trial, in which case the suit would be transferred to Circuit. On the other hand, if the case is for under $5000, it's a small claim, and most such cases, except commercial collections, are presented by unrepresented .parties. So if you want to file in this court, I recommend you google "District Court of Maryland" to access the on-line forms to get started. Once you fill out the complaint, you would take it to the civil clerk at the nearest District Court in the county you are filing in, pay your filing fee, and serve it on the client. Service can be by a private process server, certified mail, or the county sheriff (not recommended). Once it served you must file proof of service (affidavit of the process server or certified mail receipt) to have your case be on the docket for the trial.

There's a lot more to this, but those are the basics. Good luck.