A “friend of the court” brief on behalf of several Maryland local governments has been filed in the case of Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia, et al. That case, dealing with negligent use of recreation equipment, has raised before the Maryland courts the state’s long-standing common law system of contributory negligence, which plaintiffs would seek to change to a “comparative” fault system. MACo, and numerous other interested parties, have raised concerns (through legislative proposals to effect the same change, which have been regularly rejected by the General Assembly) that a wide range of new plaintiffs, who have contributed to their own injury or loss, would newly be empowered to sue and recover damages from defendants like local governments.

The brief was prepared by the law firm Funk & Bolton, a MACo Corporate Partner, on behalf of the Local Government Insurance Trust, The Maryland Association of Counties, The Maryland Municipal league, and the City of Baltimore.

The brief is available online.