Rule 2-326. Certain Transfers from District Court

(a) Notice Upon entry on the docket of an action transferred from the District Court pursuant to a demand for jury trial or a demand for transfer pursuant to section (d) of Rule 3-326, the clerk shall send to the plaintiff and each party who has been served in the District Court action a notice that states the date of entry and the assigned docket reference and includes a “Notice to Defendant” in substantially the following form:

If you are a “defendant,” “counter-defendant,” “cross defendant,” or “third-party defendant” in this action and you wish to contest the case against you, you must file in this court an answer or other response to the complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim within 30 days after the date of this notice, regardless of whether you filed a notice of intention to defend or other response in the District Court.

Committee note: If an action is transferred and a defendant or third-party defendant has not been served with process, the burden is on the plaintiff or third-party plaintiff to obtain service, as if the action were originally filed in a circuit court.

(b) Answer or Other Response; Subsequent Proceedings Regardless of whether a notice of intention to defend or other response was filed in the District Court, a defendant, counter-defendant, cross defendant, or third-party defendant shall file an answer or other response to the complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim within 30 days after the clerk sends the notice required by section (a) of this Rule. Following the expiration of the 30-day period, the action shall thereafter proceed as if originally filed in the circuit court.

Committee Notes

Source: This Rule is new.