Bowens v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Maryland held that the District Court had subject matter jurisdiction over Bowens’s $20,000 first-party underinsured-motorist contract claim. For purposes of the District Court’s jurisdictional limit, the relevant “debt or damages claimed” is the amount sought from the insurer in the pending action, not the insured’s total underlying tort damages or sums previously paid by the tortfeasor’s insurer. The court reversed the circuit court and directed remand to the District Court.