Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

I assume you are in the District Court of Maryland. If the sheriff served someone other than the defendant at the workplace, that is invalid service under the rules. It was a bad idea to entrust the sheriff with service--you would have been much better off hiring a private process server. You can serve someone other than the defendant at his/her residence (other than a young child), but not elsewhere. The clerk's office may review the sheriff's service affidavit and take the case off the trial calendar due to the service problem, unless the defendant has filed the Notice to Defend. If not, on your court date once the judge realizes what happened by reviewing the affidavit, if the defendant doesn't appear the case will be continued so you can get the summons reissued and properly served. If he/she does show up, the trial can go forward if both sides are ready, but since the defendant probably won't have filed the Notice to Defend, the case will probably be postponed anyway.