The Maryland motion to compel: the rule tells you what the motion must contain

Maryland does two things most states leave to practice.

It specifies the contents of the motion — the request, the response, and the reasons — so a motion that simply complains about non-compliance does not comply with the rule.

And it allows immediate sanctions with no order first where the other side served nothing at all, with an escape that is narrower than anywhere else: an objection excuses non-compliance only if a protective order has actually been obtained.

Immediate sanctions, no order required

Md. Rule 2-432(a):

Immediate sanctions for certain failures of discovery. — A discovering party may move for sanctions under Rule 2-433 (a), without first obtaining an order compelling discovery under section (b) of this Rule, if a party or any officer, director, or managing agent of a party or a person designated under Rule 2-412 (d) to testify on behalf of a party, fails to appear before the officer who is to take that person's deposition, after proper notice, or if a party fails to serve a response to interrogatories under Rule 2-421 or to a request for production or inspection under Rule 2-422, after proper service. Any such failure may not be excused on the ground that the discovery sought is objectionable unless a protective order has been obtained under Rule 2-403.

Where one applies, you go straight to Rule 2-433(a) sanctions. No motion to compel, no order, no waiting for it to be disobeyed.

And read the last sentence carefully. In Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania a party can preserve an objection by applying for a protective order. Maryland requires that one has been obtained. A pending application is not enough.

What the motion must contain

Rule 2-432(b)(2):

Contents of Motion. — A motion for an order compelling discovery shall set forth: the question, interrogatory, or request; and the answer or objection; and the reasons why discovery should be compelled. Instead of setting forth the questions and the answers or objections from a deposition, the relevant part of the transcript may be attached to the motion. The motion need not set forth the set of interrogatories or requests when no response has been served. If the court denies the motion in whole or in part, it may enter any protective order it could have entered on a motion pursuant to Rule 2-403. For purposes of this section, an evasive or incomplete answer is to be treated as a failure to answer.

Three mandatory components, for each item in dispute:

Two conveniences follow. For a deposition, you may attach the relevant part of the transcript instead of reproducing questions and answers. And where no response has been served at all, the motion "need not set forth the set of interrogatories or requests" — sensible, since there is nothing to compare.

The subsection also carries the evasive-answer rule and confirms that a denied motion may draw a protective order against the movant.

Five more grounds

Rule 2-432(b)(1):

When Available. — A discovering party, upon reasonable notice to other parties and all persons affected, may move for an order compelling discovery if (A) there is a failure of discovery as described in section (a) of this Rule, (B) a deponent fails to answer a question asked in an oral or written deposition, (C) a corporation or other entity fails to make a designation under Rule 2-412 (d), (D) a party fails to answer an interrogatory submitted under Rule 2-421, (E) a party fails to comply with a request for production or inspection under Rule 2-422, (F) a party fails to supplement a response under Rule 2-401 (e), or (G) a nonparty deponent fails to produce tangible evidence without having filed written objection under Rule 2-510 (f).

Two grounds here are not standard.

(F) failure to supplement. A party whose earlier response has become incomplete or incorrect owes a supplement under Rule 2-401(e), and failing to provide it is its own ground for a motion. That is a useful lever late in a case when circumstances have changed.

(G) a nonparty deponent who fails to produce tangible evidence without having filed a written objection under Rule 2-510(f). The written objection is the non-party's protection; without it, they are exposed.

A non-party's own statement

Rule 2-432(c):

By nonparty to compel production of statement. — If a party fails to comply with a request of a nonparty made pursuant to Rule 2-402 (f) for production of a statement, the nonparty may move for an order compelling its production.

A non-party may bring this motion in their own name to obtain a copy of their own statement.

File promptly, and in the right court

Rule 2-432(d):

Time for filing. — A motion for an order compelling discovery or for sanctions shall be filed with reasonable promptness.

Maryland imposes a timing requirement most states omit. There is no fixed number of days, but "reasonable promptness" is a standard the other side can invoke against a motion that sat for months.

Rule 2-432(e):

Appropriate court. — A motion for an order compelling discovery or for sanctions shall be filed with the court in which the action is pending, except that on matters relating to a deposition, the motion may be filed either with the court in which the action is pendin

The exception for deposition matters gives you a choice of forum; everything else goes where the action is pending.

The sanctions, and the fees

Rule 2-433 supplies what the court may do — and note the asymmetry in its expense provision. Where a motion to compel is granted, an award of expenses is discretionary; where it is denied, the rule directs the court to require the moving party to pay, subject to substantial justification or injustice.

That is the opposite tilt from most states, and it is the reason to make sure the motion complies with 2-432(b)(2) before filing. A motion that omits the required contents is easier to deny.

Before you file

1. Ask whether anything was served at all. If not, Rule 2-432(a) lets you skip straight to sanctions.
2. Check whether a protective order was actually obtained — an application does not excuse non-compliance here.
3. Build the motion to the required form: request, response, reasons, item by item.
4. Attach the transcript excerpt for deposition disputes rather than retyping.
5. File promptly. Rule 2-432(d) is a real requirement.

For the underlying periods and the scope of discovery, see Maryland discovery deadlines. For the preliminary motions that come earlier in a Maryland case, see Maryland preliminary motions.

How Maryland compares

A short checklist

1. Use Rule 2-432(a) if nothing was served — sanctions without an order.
2. Confirm no protective order was obtained. Only an obtained order excuses the failure.
3. Set out the request, the response and the reasons for each item. The rule requires all three.
4. Attach transcript excerpts for deposition questions.
5. Where nothing was served, you need not reproduce the requests.
6. Consider grounds (F) and (G) — failure to supplement, and a non-party who filed no written objection.
7. File with reasonable promptness.
8. Expect the fee risk to run against you if the motion fails, so comply with the contents rule.

Where these rules live

• Md. Rule 2-401 — General provisions governing discovery
• Md. Rule 2-403 — Protective orders
• Md. Rule 2-421 — Interrogatories to parties
• Md. Rule 2-422 — Discovery of documents and property
• Md. Rule 2-432 — Motions upon failure to provide discovery
• Md. Rule 2-433 — Sanctions

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what amounts to reasonable promptness or substantial justification is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.