Thursday, July 30, 2009
One Challenge to Noneconomic Damage Cap Fails
A unanimous Court of Appeals held last week in Green v. N.B.S. Inc. that Maryland’s non-economic damages cap applies to claims brought under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. The Plaintiff had argued that the cap applies only to personal injury claims based on common law torts such as negligence, and not to deceptive practices under the Act and other statutory violations.
The Maryland Chamber joined in an amicus brief stating that the cap does apply to the Consumer Protection Act and that the Act was never intended to cover noneconomic damages. While this challenge to the noneconomic damages cap is now resolved, another challenge to the cap remains in the case of Lockshin v. Semsker, in which a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled that the cap only applies in cases that were first submitted to arbitration. The Court of Appeals recently granted certiorari to hear that case this fall. See the Green decision online here (pdf). Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at .
