(a) Generally. — Subject to section (b) of this Rule, the Rules in this Chapter apply to actions in which, by law or contract, a party is entitled to claim attorneys’ fees from another party.
Rule 2-702.Scope of chapter
Circuit Court · Last amended January 1, 2014 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 2-702 marks out which circuit-court attorneys’-fee claims follow Chapter 700’s procedures and which ones — certain family-law fee awards, rule-violation sanctions, attorney-versus-client fee disputes, and lien-foreclosure fees — travel their own separate track.
Full Text of Rule 2-702
(b) Particular claims. — The procedural requirements of these Rules do not apply to claims for attorneys’ fees (1) in an action under Code, Family Law Article where an award of attorneys’ fees does not depend on the applicant’s having prevailed in the action or on any particular claim or issue in the action; (2) in a proceeding under Rules 1-341 or 2-433, or any other Rule permitting an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees as a sanction or remedy for the violation of a Rule or court order; (3) by an attorney for legal services rendered by the attorney to the attorney’s client; or (4) in an action to foreclose a lien under Title 14 of the Maryland Rules. In determining the reasonableness of any requested fee in the proceedings enumerated in this section, the court may apply some or all of the evidentiary requirements and standards set forth in the Rules in this Chapter, as appropriate under the circumstances.
Amendment History
Added effective January 1, 2014.
Committee Note & Source
Committee note. Maryland generally follows the “American Rule” under which a party is not liable for the attorneys’ fees of another party unless such liability is provided for by law or by a contract between the parties. Subject to the provisions of section (b) of this Rule, the Rules in this Chapter apply only to claims for attorneys’ fees that fall under the exceptions to the “American Rule” in civil litigation in a circuit court. A comparable Rule for claims in civil litigation in the District Court appears as Rule 3- 741.
Source. This Rule is new. Editor’s note. —The 2013 rules order is effective January 1, 2014 and applies only to actions commenced on or after January 1, 2014.
Plain-English Summary
Maryland follows the “American Rule”: each side normally pays its own attorneys’ fees unless a law or a contract says otherwise. This rule sets the outer boundary of the chapter that follows. Subject to its exceptions, Chapter 700’s procedures apply to any circuit-court action where a party is entitled, by law or by contract, to claim attorneys’ fees from another party. The chapter itself doesn’t create a right to fee-shifting — it only supplies the procedure once some other source of law or a contract creates that right.
Four categories fall outside the chapter’s procedural requirements: fee awards under the Family Law Article that don’t depend on which side prevailed; fee awards imposed as a sanction or remedy for violating a rule or court order; a claim by an attorney against the attorney’s own client for legal services rendered; and fee claims in an action to foreclose a lien under the Rules governing that subject. Even in these excluded proceedings, the court may still borrow some or all of the chapter’s evidentiary requirements and standards if they fit the circumstances. A companion rule covers the same subject for civil actions filed in the District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this rule create a right to recover attorneys’ fees?
No. Maryland follows the American Rule, under which fee-shifting exists only when a law or a contract provides for it. This rule only decides when Chapter 700’s procedures apply once that right exists elsewhere.
Are sanctions for violating a court order or rule handled under this chapter?
No. Fee awards imposed as a sanction or remedy for a rule or court-order violation are excluded from the chapter’s procedural requirements, though the court may still apply some of the chapter’s evidentiary standards if useful.
What about a lawyer suing a former client to collect a fee?
That claim is excluded. The rule carves out claims by an attorney against the attorney’s own client for legal services the attorney rendered.
Does a family-law fee award always fall outside this chapter?
Only when the award doesn’t depend on which party prevailed on the claim or issue. Family Law Article fee awards tied to prevailing-party status can still fall under the chapter.
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
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