Rule 3-509.Trial upon default

This rule fills the gap for what happens at trial when a motion for judgment on affidavit was never filed, or was filed and denied, and the defendant does not appear at the time set for trial. What the plaintiff has to prove depends on whether the defendant ever filed a notice of intention to defend. If the defendant never filed one, the plaintiff does not have to prove liability at all, only damages. If the defendant did file a timely notice but still failed to appear for trial, the bar is higher: the plaintiff has to put on prima facie evidence of liability in addition to proving damages.

There is a significant carve-out for consumer debt cases where the plaintiff bought the debt rather than originating it. In those cases — defined by cross-reference to Rule 3-306(a)(3) and (a)(5) — the usual rule that liability need not be proven does not apply. Regardless of whether the defendant filed a notice of intention to defend, the court has to require proof of liability, apply the specific requirements in Code, Courts Article, § 5-1203(b)(2), and may weigh whatever other competent evidence comes in. This closes off the possibility of a debt buyer getting a default judgment on a bare damages showing.

For property damage claims specifically, section (b) offers a shortcut: an affidavit with an itemized repair bill, an itemized repair estimate, or a fair-market-value estimate can serve as prima facie proof of the damage, as long as the affiant has personal knowledge of the repairs or estimate, states their qualifications, and swears the bill or estimate is fair and reasonable. And once judgment is entered against a defaulting defendant, section (c) requires the clerk to mail the defendant notice of the judgment at the address on the pleadings, and to make sure the file reflects that this notice went out.