Calvert Cnty. Cir. Ct. Family DCM Plan 2.6

At (or promptly after) a Scheduling Conference,

unless a trial date has been previously assigned or the Court otherwise directs, the action shall be

set for trial and a notice of trial shall be issued.

2.7 (a) Settlement Conference. A Settlement Conference is set on all Track 3 and Track 4

cases. The date of the Settlement Conference will be set at the Scheduling Conference or when the

initial Scheduling Order is issued. All Settlement Conferences are held before the magistrate. The

magistrate will place on the record any settlement agreement reached between the parties. Unless

requested in writing and approved in advance of the Settlement Conference, parties and counsel

must appear in person. If parties or counsel anticipate that divorce testimony will be placed on the

record, a corroborating witness should also be present.

(b) Pretrial Conference. In accordance with Md. Rule 2-504.2, a Pretrial Conference

shall be scheduled for all Track 2, 3 and 4 cases that are not settled following a Settlement

Conference. The Conference shall be held approximately 30-60 days prior to trial to address

unresolved issues. A written statement addressing the matters listed in Md. Rule 2-504.2 (b) must

be filed by the parties not later than five days before the Pretrial Conference. The Conference may

include discussion of subjects referred to in Md. Rules 2-504 through 2-504.2, and any other matter

pertinent to the management of the case. At the conclusion of the Conference (or shortly

thereafter), a Pretrial Order amending or supplementing any prior Scheduling Order or notice of

trial may be issued in accordance with Md. Rule 2-504.2(c), setting forth the matters decided which

control the subsequent course of the action, subject to modification by the Court.

2.8. Financial Information. All parties are required to comply strictly with Md. Rule 9-202

(e) (Financial statement – Spousal support) and Md. Rule 9-202 (f) (Financial statement - Child

support) and Md. Rule 9-207 (Joint Statement of Marital and Non-Marital Property). Further

attention is called to (i) the sanctions permitted by these rules, and (ii) the status of a financial

statement attached to a pleading or amended pleading in accordance with Md. Rule 9-202 (e) and

Md. Rule 9-202 (f) as “a section of the formal pleadings”, as a result of which information

materially differing from the most recently filed statement may not be permitted at trial.

2.9. Submission of Judgments for Divorce. A party seeking to file a final judgment in a

divorce action must: (i) provide a proposed form of judgment, (ii) provide a completed report in

the form required by Section 2-503 of the Family Law Article of the Maryland Annotated Code,

and (iii) pay all open costs. A disposition date shall be scheduled for the presentation of a

judgment of absolute divorce or any other order to be prepared by counsel and not presented at the

time of the hearing. If the order or judgment has not been filed prior to the disposition date, the

presence of counsel is required on the disposition date, and the parties may be required to appear

if the Court deems it appropriate.

2.10 Dismissal of Limited Divorce Action. If a limited divorce case settles and the parties

do not wish to obtain a judgment for limited divorce, the parties may file a line of dismissal with

the Clerk of the Court along with a proposed order, or the Court, at its discretion, may close the

case and require the parties to re-open the case when they are ready to proceed with an absolute

divorce.

Appendix A

Case Stages

Filing a Case

The following steps are required to file a family case:

(a) File a complaint with the Court (Md. Rule 2-111) at the Circuit Court Clerk’s office. Most

family cases are required to attach a completed Domestic Case Information Report (CC-

DCM-001), with the complaint. Family case subtypes exempt from filing the Domestic

Case Information Report include the following:

 Contempt for failure to pay child support, when filed by a government agency

 Domestic violence relief under Code, Family Law Article, §§ 4-501 through 4-516,

including Rule 3-326(c) transfer

 Guardianship, other than action to terminate parental rights (Rules 10-201 through

10-305)

 Paternity, when filed by government agency (Code, Family Law Article, §§ 5-1001

through 5-1048)

 Post-conviction (Rules 4-401 through 4-408)

(b) Pay filing fee. Refer to the Summary of Charges, Costs, and Fees of the Clerks of the

Circuit Court for fees. The filing fee for divorce cases is $165.00. (See Divorce, Complaint

for Limited or Absolute.) In those counties in which MDEC has been implemented, cases

may be filed (mandatory for attorneys) and fees paid electronically. Filing fees may be

waived by the Court, based on the following conditions:

 Filing by the plaintiff of the Request for Waiver of Prepaid Costs (CC-DC-089);

and/or

 Representation by a civil legal aid lawyer; and/or

 Other determination by the court.

If the Court does not grant the request to waive prepaid costs, the plaintiff has 10 days to

pay the filing and other required fees (prepaid costs).

(c) Notify the other party (Defendant). The plaintiff is required to attempt to notify the

defendant that a complaint (lawsuit) has been filed against the defendant. The clerk will

issue a summons to officially notify the defendant that a suit has been filed (Md. Rule 2-

112). The summons has to be served on the defendant within 60 days. After the time limit

has expired, the summons is no longer valid, unless renewed by motion of the plaintiff.

The original complaint and summons must be delivered to the defendant. There are four

legal ways to deliver these documents to the defendant: 1) Certified Mail, 2) Private

Process; 3) Constable; and 4) Sheriff.

(d) Proof of Service. The Court requires that the plaintiff fill out an (Private Process) (CC-DR-55) or an Affidavit of Service (Certified Mail) (CC-DR-56) form to prove that the other

side has been notified, or served. If the Court does not receive proof of service within the

time allotted for the defendant to file an Answer, the plaintiff may not be able to present

their case on the trial date.

(e) Lack of Jurisdiction. Between the filing of the complaint and service, the Court may

dismiss cases for lack of jurisdiction, and following service for lack of prosecution, or these

cases are withdrawn. If the defendant has not been served after 120 days, the clerk’s office

sends notices to the parties that they have 30 days to file a motion to vacate or defer the

order of dismissal, or the case will be dismissed without prejudice. After 30 days, the

Clerk’s office reviews the case, and it is presented to a judge who signs an order dismissing

the case. A motion docket entry is made that the case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Answer. The defendant must file an affirmative Answer, typically within 30 days after he/she has

received a summons, for most Circuit Court civil case subtypes (Md. Rule 2-321). See exceptions

in (a) above. These cases are considered by the Court to be at issue, and the case shall proceed

(Md. Rule 2-323). In addition, if the defendant seeks to modify any information on the original

case information report, or expects to file a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, he/she

is required to file with the Answer a defendant’s Family Case Information report.

Lack of Prosecution. Following service, the Court actively dismisses cases for lack of

prosecution after one year under Md. Rule 2-507. The majority of dismissals occur after the

answers have been filed. See Answer above. Following service, if an Answer has not been filed

or, following answer, no other action has been taken on the case after one year, the Clerk’s Office

sends notices to the parties that they have 30 days to file a motion to vacate or defer the order of

dismissal, or the case will be dismissed without prejudice. After the 30-day expiration, the Clerk’s

Office reviews and dismisses the case. A motion docket entry is made that the case is dismissed

without prejudice for lack of prosecution.

Appendix B

Family Services and Programs

The following are some of the services that may be ordered as part of an ongoing contested family

case. Ideally, the need for any service will be determined at the time of the Scheduling Conference;

however, a judge may order, or a magistrate may recommend any of these services at any time in

the case process. The services and programs listed below are described in more detail after the

Tracks 2 and 3 case flow narrative:

Co-parenting Seminar

Parenting Time Mediation

In-home Services

KIDS’ Connection

Home Studies

Supervised Visitation

Evaluations

Children’s Attorneys

Parenting Assessment

Parent Education

Parent Communication

Parent Coordination

Substance Abuse Screening/Evaluation/Treatment

Domestic Violence Programs

Appendix C

Post-Trial Activities.

Post-Judgment

The parties have 10 days to file a motion to alter or amend a judgment (Md. Rule 2-534); and 30

days to file an appeal. On appeal, a Circuit Court case will be reviewed in the Court of Special

Appeals.

Enforcement

After the Court issues a judgment and it is entered into the record by the Clerk’s Office, both

parties will receive a copy of the judgment by mail. The Court will not collect the money owed

to the prevailing party. To begin an enforcement action, the prevailing party will have to complete

and file additional forms with the Court, pay the required filing fees and appear in court for

additional hearings. The prevailing party usually must wait 10 days before he/she can take further

legal action to enforce the judgment. Once the waiting period passes, there are three different

ways a creditor can collect on the judgment:

1. Garnishing the other person’s wages;

2. Garnishing the other person’s bank account; or

3. Seizing the other person’s personal property or real estate.

The prevailing party must file documents with the Court and provide the other party with copies

of all motions or correspondence filed with the Court in order to garnish or seize money or

property. If the other person does not have a job, a bank account, real estate or other significant

property, it may be difficult to collect on the judgment.