Contributory Negligence---Should It Be Changed?

Maryland and 4 other jurisdictions, of 51 (50 states plus D.C.) use contributory negligence. The other 46 jurisdictions use comparative negligence, either pure or modified.

InNovember of 2010, Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell sent a letter to the Judiciary's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure to determine how a change could be made "...if the Court were to consider replacing the doctrine of contributory negligence, a common law doctrine in Maryland, with some sort of comparative fault."

InFebruary 2011, Delegate Benjamin F. Kramerintroduced a bill which would require, by statute, that Maryland continue to use contributory negligence. It did not pass.

OnApril 15, 2011, the Rules Committee issued its report which recommended no change be made by rule and further indicated, if any change were to be made, it should properly be made by either theMaryland Legislatureor by aCourt of Appealscase.

Other states have used one of these two methods.

OnSeptember 10, 2012, the Court of Appeals of Marylandheard oral arguments in the case ofColeman v. Soccer Association of Columbiaon the topic.

You must watch aWebcastof the oral arguments by going toMaryland Courts,then toCourtsat the top of the page, then toCourt of Appeals,then toWebcasts, then toOral Argument Archives, then toSeptember 2012 term,then scroll all the way down to theColeman case (No. 9) on 9-10-2012.When you watch you can hear arguments on both sides of the issue. There is also a link below.

The opinions were filed onJuly 9, 2013. You must read the opinions (you can Google the case) and decide which you support.Be certain to read all 3 opinions (majority, dissenting and concurring).

You can also use Google to help find information, both pro and con, to help you form an opinion.

Contributory Negligence:

https://youtu.be/dkOX4u1YOSI

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

Discussion Points:

Do you believe the Maryland Legislature should change from contributory negligence to comparative negligence and more importantly,why?

And also, if your answer is yes, which type---pure or modified---would you choose, and why?

Lastly, what was your impression of theoral argumentsin theCourt of Appeals?