Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland
Circuit Court de novo hearings
When a case is appealed from Small Claims to Circuit Court to be heard de novo, does that require an Amended Complaint to be filed which is in the form that the Circuit Court uses, as opposed to the one that was used in Small Claims Court which was forwarded to the Circuit Court Clerk automatically by the District Court Clerk? And is it possible to use Discovery? Thanks.
Asked on 9/24/01, 2:10 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher
Wagshal and Sher
Re: Circuit Court de novo hearings
You cannot file an amended complaint, and you are not allowed to take discovery--in other words, the same rules that applied in small claims court apply on the appeal. You simply get a second trial before a new judge, which will also be conducted informally, just as the first trial was.
Answered on 11/07/01, 12:31 pm