House Judiciary hears competing views on lowering Maryland’s punitive‑damages standard

The House Judiciary Committee heard extended testimony on House Bill 1099, a proposal to change Maryland’s punitive‑damages standard from the state’s current ‘‘actual malice’’ test to a gross‑negligence or reckless‑conduct standard and to consider mechanisms for the state to capture part of punitive awards.

Attorney and work‑group participant George Tolley told the committee that Maryland’s high current standard — adopted by the Court of Appeals in 1992 — requires proof of actual malice (ill will or intent to injure) and that most other states use broader tests, such as gross negligence or reckless disregard. Tolley said the bill is intended to align Maryland with other jurisdictions and to return a remedial tool in civil suits against corporations whose conduct is described as…