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Program Description

  Litigation

Through this program, OCA represents the County (and other members of the Self-Insurance Fund) before all courts and administrative agencies in which claims for relief are sought in connection with alleged wrong-doing by members of the Self-Insurance Fund and their employees. The Litigation program also provides the County with legal representation in State and Federal courts in connection with legal actions brought by the County to enforce County law. For FY25, all attorneys and most of the staff in this program are fully charged to the Self-Insurance Fund (SIF).

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Program Contacts

Contact Carolyn Kilgariff of the Office of the County Attorney at 240.777.6766 or Veronica Jaua of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.777.2782 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

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Program Performance Measures

Program Performance MeasuresActual FY22Actual FY23Estimated FY24Target FY25Target FY26
Number of workers' compensation hearings1,9561,6531,7751,7751,775
Code citations processed4,9273,5803,6003,6003,600
Total prayer amount demanded by plaintiff (Self-Insurance Fund only) ($000) 1$128,419$55,204$124,178$124,178$124,178
Total number of settlements (Self-Insurance Fund only)2224212121
Total judgment amount paid to plaintiff by the County (Self-Insurance Fund only) ($000) 2$47.46$953.64$348.00$348.00$348.00
Percent of wins in Self-Insurance Fund litigation 3100%86%95%95%95%
Number of judgments in the County's favor (Self-Insurance Fund only)2930313131
Number of judgments against the County (Self-Insurance Fund only) 447444
Ratio of debt collected to amount referred to the department for collection72%97%73%73%73%
Ratio of cost of debt collection to revenue5%4%6%6%6%
Code enforcement collected ($000)$491$431$438$438$438
Ratio of wins to total code enforcement cases99.8%99.8%99.0%99.0%99.0%
Debt collection ($000)$11,076$14,213$10,212$10,212$10,212
Forfeitures collected ($000) 5$34.7$135$240.7$240.7$240.7
Total net gain to the County in worker's compensation cases ($000) 6$5,737$4,798$5,397$5,397$5,397
1  The amount of money Plaintiffs said they were seeking decreased. The Maryland Rules now provide that when a Plaintiff files suit in Circuit Court to recover damages that are more than $75,000, their complaint should not specify the entire amount of damages they seek. Instead, their Complaint should simply say that their damages exceed $75,000 in value. While this Rule has been in effect since 2014, it has taken a while for Plaintiffs’ attorneys to limit their prayer amounts to “in excess of $75,000” but most attorneys in Circuit Court are now doing so.
2  The judgment amounts in FY23 increased from those in FY21 and FY22 in response to the court’s resumption of full time operations after two years of Covid closures and delays. The judgments were due to some “catch up” trials in FY23. Additionally, there was one large judgment for attorney fees in a case where the jury found the County had discriminated against an employee due to her disability. While the jury awarded the Plaintiff herself zero damages, because of the finding of discrimination against the County, the Court awarded the Plaintiff a portion of her claimed attorney fees in the amount of $837,925.49.
3  "Win" includes verdicts in favor of the plaintiff where the County pays a judgment below last demands.
4  Six of the seven judgments paid in FY23 were below last demand, which is still in the County's favor.
5  The lower number in FY22 is due to the court closure and backlog from COVID-19: both the delay in filing them due to the court closure for the corresponding criminal cases and the delay in getting them set in for hearings.
6  The Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission issues awards on the nature and extent of an employee's job related injuries. Independent medical evaluations are performed by the injured worker's physician and the employer/insurer's physician. The Commission's award is typically a number between the employee's and employer/insurer's evaluation. If the amount the Commission determines that the County must pay is below the average of the two evaluations, that is considered a net gain to the County.
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Program Budget Changes

FY25 Recommended ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY24 Approved00.00
Shift: Move Tax Supported Chargeback from Self Insurance Fund to OCA 1354851.00
FY25 Recommended1354851.00