Rule 3-401.General provisions governing discovery

Discovery in Maryland District Court is narrower than in Circuit Court, and Rule 3-401 marks the boundary. A party can always use written interrogatories. Depositions — whether by oral examination or written questions — are available too, but only if the parties file a written stipulation agreeing to take one. Without that agreement on file, deposition discovery isn't on the table. When a deposition does happen, the mechanics borrow from Circuit Court practice under Chapter 400 of Title 2 rather than reinventing separate District Court deposition procedures.

Section (b) defines "discovery material" broadly — deposition notices, objections to the form of a notice or of written deposition questions, deposition transcripts, interrogatories, and responses to interrogatories — and then keeps almost all of it out of the court file. Instead of filing the actual discovery, the party who generated it promptly files a short notice stating what type of material was served, the date and manner of service, and who was served. That party keeps the original and has to make it available for the other side to inspect. None of this stops discovery material from being used later — at trial or as an exhibit supporting or opposing a motion.