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Rule 2-433.Sanctions

Circuit Court · Last amended January 1, 2024 · Last verified July 13, 2026

In one sentenceRule 2-433 lets a Maryland circuit court punish a party who fails to provide discovery, with remedies ranging from deeming facts established to striking pleadings, entering default judgment, or holding a party in contempt, and it usually shifts the winning side's attorneys' fees onto the loser.

Full Text of Rule 2-433

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)

(a) For certain failures of discovery. — Upon a motion filed under Rule 2-432 (a), the court, if it finds a failure of discovery, may enter such orders in regard to the failure as are just, including one or more of the following:
(1) An order that the matters sought to be discovered, or any other designated facts shall be taken to be established for the purpose of the action in accordance with the claim of the party obtaining the order;
(2) An order refusing to allow the failing party to support or oppose designated claims or defenses, or prohibiting that party from introducing designated matters in evidence; or
(3) An order striking out pleadings or parts thereof, or staying further proceeding until the discovery is provided, or dismissing the action or any part thereof, or entering a judgment by default that includes a determination as to liability and all relief sought by the moving party against the failing party if the court is satisfied that it has personal jurisdiction over that party. If, in order to enable the court to enter default judgment, it is necessary to take an account or to determine the amount of damages or to establish the truth of any averment by evidence or to make an investigation of any matter, the court may rely on affidavits, conduct hearings or order references as appropriate, and, if requested, shall preserve to the plaintiff the right of trial by jury.
Instead of any of those orders or in addition thereto, the court, after opportunity for hearing, shall require the failing party or the attorney advising the failure to act or both of them to pay the reasonable costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, caused by the failure, unless the court finds that the failure was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of costs and expenses unjust.
(b) Failure to preserve electronically stored information. — If electronically stored information that should have been preserved in the reasonable anticipation or conduct of litigation is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve it and the information cannot be restored or replaced through additional discovery, the court, upon finding prejudice to another party from loss of the information, may order measures no greater than necessary to cure the prejudice.
(c) For failure to comply with order compelling discovery. — If a person fails to obey an order compelling discovery, the court, upon motion of a party and reasonable notice to other parties and all persons affected, may enter such orders in regard to the failure as are just, including one or more of the orders set forth in section (a) of this Rule. If justice cannot otherwise be achieved, the court may enter an order in compliance with Rule 15-206 treating the failure to obey the order as a contempt.
(d) Award of costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. — If a motion filed under Rule 2-403, 2-432, or 2-434 is granted, the court, after opportunity for hearing, shall require (1) the party or deponent whose conduct necessitated the motion, (2) the party or the attorney advising the conduct, or (3) both of them to pay to the moving party the reasonable costs and expenses incurred in obtaining the order, including attorneys’ fees, unless the court finds that the opposition to the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
If the motion is denied, the court, after opportunity for hearing, shall require (1) the moving party, (2) the attorney advising the motion, or (3) both of them to pay to the party or deponent who opposed the motion the reasonable costs and expenses incurred in opposing the motion, including attorneys’ fees, unless the court finds that the making of the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
If the motion is granted in part and denied in part, the court may apportion the reasonable costs and expenses incurred in relation to the motion among the parties and persons in a just manner.
(e) Statement regarding costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. — If a motion or a response to a motion contains a request for an award of costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, the request shall (1) include, or (2) be separately supported by, a verified statement in conformance with Rule 1-341 (b). With the approval of the court, the party requesting the award may defer the filing of the supporting statement until 15 days after the court determines the party’s entitlement to costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees.
(f) Response to request. — Within 15 days after the filing of a statement in support of a request for an award of costs, expenses, or attorneys’ fees, a party against whom the award is sought may file a response.
(g) Guidelines. — In determining an award of attorneys’ fees and related expenses in excess of $500 under this Rule, the court may consider the Guidelines Regarding Compensable and Non-compensable Attorneys’ Fees and Related Expenses contained in an Appendix to these Rules.
End

Amendment History

Amended Nov. 22, 1989, effective Jan. 1, 1990; Jan. 20, 1999, effective July 1, 1999; November 12, 2003, effective January 1, 2004; Dec. 4, 2007, effective Jan. 1, 2008; Oct. 17, 2013, effective Jan. 1, 2014; Nov. 28, 2023, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Committee Note & Source

Committee note. Section (b) of this Rule applies only to electronically stored information. Its application is limited to parties, and it does not apply to non-party subpoenas. Under this section, the duty to preserve information arises when litigation is reasonably anticipated or commenced. See Rule 2-101 (a). While section (b) of this Rule does not define the scope or limits of the duty to preserve, when the duty arises, the duty under this section is limited to “reasonable steps.” No sanction may be imposed if the court determines that secondary evidence reasonably can restore or replace the information that was not preserved. If warranted, measures to cure prejudice may include presuming that the lost information was unfavorable to the party; in a jury trial, instructing the jury that it may or must presume that the information was unfavorable to the party; or dismissing the action or entering a default judgment.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 2-433 is the enforcement backbone behind Maryland's discovery rules. Once a court finds that a party has failed to provide discovery under a motion filed under Rule 2-432(a), it can respond with a range of remedies scaled to the harm: deeming disputed facts established against the failing party, barring that party from supporting or opposing particular claims or defenses, or going as far as striking pleadings, staying the case until discovery is provided, dismissing claims, or entering a default judgment on liability and damages. A separate subsection deals with lost electronically stored information: if a party should have preserved ESI once litigation was reasonably anticipated but failed to take reasonable steps to do so, and the information can't be recovered through more discovery, the court can order measures no broader than needed to fix the resulting prejudice to the other side. If ordinary discovery requests aren't enough and a party defies an actual order compelling discovery, the court can impose the same range of sanctions, or, when nothing else will work, treat the refusal as contempt.

Money follows fault. When a court grants a motion under Rule 2-403, 2-432, or 2-434, it must order the losing side (the party, the attorney who advised the noncompliance, or both) to pay the reasonable costs and fees the motion caused, unless the opposition was substantially justified or a fee award would be unjust. The same rule runs in reverse: if the motion is denied, the party who lost the motion pays the other side's costs, and if a motion is granted in part and denied in part, the court can divide expenses among everyone involved in whatever way is fair. A party asking for fees has to back the request with a verified statement, and the other side gets 15 days to respond once that statement is filed. For any fee request over $500, the court can look to the Guidelines Regarding Compensable and Non-compensable Attorneys' Fees that appear as an Appendix to the Rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can a Maryland court do if the other side won't provide discovery?

Under Rule 2-433(a), once the court finds a failure of discovery on a motion filed under Rule 2-432(a), it can order that disputed facts be treated as established, bar the failing party from supporting or opposing certain claims or defenses, strike pleadings, stay the case, dismiss claims, or enter a default judgment covering liability and damages.

Can a Maryland case be dismissed for failing to comply with discovery?

Yes. Rule 2-433(a)(3) allows the court to strike pleadings, stay the proceeding, or dismiss the action (or part of it) when a party fails to comply with discovery, and Rule 2-433(c) extends the same range of sanctions to a party who disobeys an actual order compelling discovery.

Does losing electronically stored information automatically trigger sanctions in Maryland?

No. Rule 2-433(b) applies only when a party should have preserved ESI in anticipation of litigation, failed to take reasonable steps to do so, the information can't be restored or replaced through more discovery, and the court finds the other party was prejudiced. Even then, the court orders only the measures needed to cure that prejudice, not automatic penalties.

Do I have to pay the other side's attorney's fees for a failed discovery motion?

Usually, yes, in one direction or the other. Rule 2-433(d) requires the court to award reasonable costs and fees to whichever side wins a motion filed under Rule 2-403, 2-432, or 2-434, unless the losing side's position was substantially justified or a fee award would otherwise be unjust. If a motion is granted in part and denied in part, the court can apportion expenses among the parties.

How do I ask for attorneys' fees under Rule 2-433?

The request has to be included in, or separately supported by, a verified statement that conforms to Rule 1-341(b). With the court's approval, a party can wait to file that supporting statement until 15 days after the court decides entitlement to fees, and the opposing party then has 15 days to respond once the statement is filed.

Source & verification. Rule text, Committee Note, Source note, and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Maryland Rules, adopted by the Supreme Court of Maryland. Last verified July 13, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: discovery sanctions marylandmotion to compel sanctions marylandspoliation of electronically stored information marylandfailure to preserve esi marylanddefault judgment for discovery violation marylandattorneys fees discovery motion maryland