Level With
Me By JeremyWyatt
Make Yourself Heard
I recently went through an intense oral arguments in the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. In oral arguments, I have to focus on a specific point of law to the appellate court. Oral arguments require a high level of preparation. I was dealing with an alleged irregularity of the court's procedure. Let me explain: After the court enters its judgment, there are a number of options at your disposal if you wish to appeal. You can file motions or make a request at trial to change to the judgment. If there is an error in the judgment, for example, you can then file a motion, but it must be done quickly — usually within 10–30 days after the judgment. If you wait longer than 30 days, you are left with only one option: You can only file a motion if there were an instance of fraud, a mistake, or an irregularity in the judgment. In my case, my client won at trial, and the other side foolishly waited more then 30 days, then filed a motion claiming an irregularity because the court excluded
This is something I’ve been noticing more frequently: People are waiting longer to file complaints and lawsuits or to bring major issues to attention even when they are current major issues. It’s critical to bring things to light when they are still new and fresh on your mind, when the details are clearer. Recency bias plays into this as well. People tend to prefer to hear about recent events rather than those from the past — even the recent past. Filing a complaint, a lawsuit, or making a claim while the issue is “new” comes with significant benefits for the plaintiff.
One benefit: Getting to your result within a shorter or more reasonable time frame.
Another benefit : Potentially minimizing delays.
It also saves further headache later on. Here’s an example of what I mean.
Continued on Back ...
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
www.HarrisonLawGroup.com
(410) 832-0000
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs