Chief Justice of the Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge E. Gregory Wells, issued an opinion removing certain claims from the damage caps provision of the Local Government Tort Claims Act.
An opinion was released yesterday by the Appellate Court of Maryland that seeks to clarify the scope of damage caps in the Local Government Tort Claims Act (LGTCA). The case giving rise to the issue is Joseph Watts v. Prince George’s County, Maryland and was originally heard in the the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County. The decision from Judge E. Gregory Wells reverses an order by the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County that reduced the damages owed by Prince George’s to the plaintiff to $400,000 down from $1.7M. Oral arguments were heard on September 4, 2025 and can be reviewed in the courts archives.
In essence the opinion means Maryland counties face uncapped liability in workplace discrimination and retaliation claims and holds that the state’s Local Government Tort Claims Act does not limit how much a county must pay if found liable for discrimination or retaliation under state or local employment laws.
From the opinion:
Because we hold the Local Government TCA’s statutory damages cap does not apply to Watts’ discrimination and retaliation claims, we need not address his contentions related to the Local Government TCA’s application to his award for back and front pay or whether the claims are one or two occurrences. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The court’s reasoning seemed to be that the cap was not intended to cover statutory causes of action like those brought under the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act and the Prince George’s County Code. The decision clarifies that public sector employers in Maryland may face higher liability in statutory discrimination and retaliation cases.
