2018 Maryland Code
Courts and Judicial Proceedings
Title 3 - Courts of General Jurisdiction -- Jurisdiction/special Causes of Action
Subtitle 20 - Maryland Uniform Collaborative Law Act.
§ 3-2001. Definitions.
(a) In general. -- In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.
(b) Collaborative law communication. -- "Collaborative law communication" means a statement, whether oral or in a record or verbal or nonverbal, that:
(1) Is made to conduct, participate in, continue, or reconvene a collaborative law process; and
(2) Occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and before the collaborative law process is concluded.
(c) Collaborative law participation agreement. -- "Collaborative law participation agreement" means an agreement by persons to participate in a collaborative law process.
(d) Collaborative law process. -- "Collaborative law process" means a procedure intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal in which persons:
(1) Sign a collaborative law participation agreement; and
(2) Are represented by collaborative lawyers.
(e) Collaborative lawyer. -- "Collaborative lawyer" means a lawyer who represents a party in a collaborative law process.
(f) Collaborative matter. --
(1) "Collaborative matter" means a dispute, a transaction, a claim, a problem, or an issue for resolution described in a collaborative law participation agreement.
(2) "Collaborative matter" includes a dispute, a claim, and an issue in a proceeding.
(g) Nonparty participant. -- "Nonparty participant" means a person other than a party and the party's collaborative lawyer that participates in a collaborative law process.
(h) Party. -- "Party" means a person that signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter.
(i) Person. -- "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a business trust, an estate, a trust, a partnership, a limited liability company, an association, a joint venture, a public corporation, a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality or any other legal or commercial entity.
(j) Person eligible for relief. -- "Person eligible for relief" includes:
(1) The current or former spouse of a respondent;
(2) A cohabitant of a respondent;
(3) A person related to a respondent by blood, marriage, or adoption;
(4) A parent, stepparent, child, or stepchild of a respondent or person eligible for relief who resides or resided with the respondent or person eligible for relief for at least 90 days within 1 year before the filing of a petition for relief under Title 4, Subtitle 5 of the Family Law Article;
(5) A vulnerable adult; and
(6) A person who has a child in common with the respondent.
(k) Proceeding. -- "Proceeding" means:
(1) A judicial, an administrative, an arbitral, or any other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and posthearing motions, conferences, and discovery; or
(2) A legislative hearing or similar process.
(l) Prospective party. -- "Prospective party" means a person that discusses with a prospective collaborative lawyer the possibility of signing a collaborative law participation agreement.
(m) Record. -- "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or any other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(n) Related to a collaborative matter. -- "Related to a collaborative matter" means involving the same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter.
(o) Sign. -- "Sign" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:
(1) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(2) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
(p) Tribunal. -- "Tribunal" means:
(1) A court, an arbitrator, an administrative agency, or any other body acting in an adjudicative capacity that, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party's interests in a matter; or
(2) A legislative body conducting a hearing or similar process.