Courts Aim To Revise Debt Settlement Systems for Hospitals After Baltimore Sun Investigation, Maryland Study
Maryland district court officials plan to give defendants in debt collection lawsuits with hospitals new legal aid and change the way settlement conferences are handled, the Baltimore Sun reports. The courts are responding to a Sun investigation in December 2008 and a University of Maryland School of Law study in November 2008 that found defendants are confused by the court process, do not understand that they might have legitimate defenses and assume that they must accept the terms dictated by hospital lawyers in settlement conferences, according to the Sun.
Ben Clyburn, chief judge of Maryland's district courts, said, "We will explain the process a lot better and put citizens in a better position to understand what they need to do, so they are prepared at these conferences." Clyburn said the court is considering setting up "self-help centers" so people who cannot afford attorneys can receive legal advice. Such centers would be modeled after centers in circuit courts for family court cases, according to the Sun. The court also is considering the use of computers to show simulated meetings between attorneys and unrepresented defendants in civil cases, according to Clyburn.
The first changes will begin in February when defendants assigned to "rocket docket" receive new notices explaining their rights. A rocket docket is a weekly session where plaintiffs' attorneys try to work out agreements with several defendants in quick succession without a judge present. The notices explain that a rocket docket is a "resolution conference" and says that the session is optional and will not be held against the defendant. Michael Millemann, a Maryland law professor who co-wrote the study, said, "Negotiation only works if there is a power balance." He added, "What is missing is the counterweight for the defendants" (Drew, Baltimore Sun, 1/26).
