State v. Young

Summary

The Court held that, because the jury found only negligence and no malice or gross negligence by the individual State employees, the Maryland Tort Claims Act required judgment against the State alone, subject to the statutory waiver limit. It further held that the jury verdict established only one incident or occurrence, requiring reduction of the judgment to $400,000. The Court declined to decide whether a pattern-or-practice claim may be brought against the State because the respondent did not challenge the separate ruling that the evidence was insufficient, and it vacated the lower appellate court's discussion of that issue.