Rule 3-615.Judgment on claim and counterclaim

District Court cases sometimes end with money going both ways: the plaintiff wins on the original claim, and the defendant wins on a counterclaim. Rule 3-615 keeps that outcome from turning into two separate judgments. Instead of entering one judgment for the plaintiff and another for the defendant, the court compares the two dollar amounts and enters a single judgment for whichever side came out ahead, in the amount of the difference.

Say a plaintiff recovers $3,000 on the claim and the defendant recovers $1,200 on the counterclaim. Under this rule, the court enters one judgment for $1,800 in the plaintiff's favor rather than a $3,000 judgment and a competing $1,200 judgment. That keeps the docket clean, avoids two collectible judgments running against each other, and spares both sides the trouble of enforcing, or defending against, offsetting debts.

The rule reaches only money damages. If a claim or counterclaim seeks something other than money, that award stands on its own and isn't part of the netting calculation.