Rule 1-325.1 - Waiver of Prepaid Appellate Costs in Civil Actions(a) Scope. This Rule applies (1) to an appeal from an order or judgment of the District Court or an orphans' court to a circuit court in a civil action, and (2) to an appeal as defined in subsection (b)(1) of this Rule seeking review in the Supreme Court or the Appellate Court of an order or judgment of a lower court in a civil action.(b) Definitions. In this Rule, the following definitions apply: (1)Appeal. Appeal" means an appeal, an application for leave to appeal to the Appellate Court, and a 13 petition for certiorari or other extraordinary relief filed in the Supreme Court.(2)Clerk. Clerk includes a Register of Wills.(3)Prepaid Costs. Prepaid costs means (A) the fee charged by the clerk of the lower court for assembling the record, (B) the cost of preparation of a transcript in the District Court, if a transcript is necessary to the appeal, and (C) the filing fee charged by the clerk of the appellate court.Cross reference: See the schedule of appellate court fees following Code, Courts Article, § 7-102 and the schedule of circuit court fees following Code, Courts Article, § 7-202.
(c)Waiver.(1)Generally. Waiver of prepaid costs under this Rule shall be governed generally by section (d) or (e) of Rule 1-325, as applicable, except that: (A) the request for waiver of both the lower and appellate prepaid costs shall be filed in the lower court with the notice of appeal;(B) a request to waive prepayment of the fee for filing a petition for certiorari or other extraordinary relief in the Supreme Court shall be filed in, and determined by, that Court;(C) waiver of the fee charged for assembling the record shall be determined in the lower court;(D) waiver of the appellate court filing fee shall be determined by the appellate court, but the appellate court may rely on a waiver of the fee for assembling the record ordered by the lower court;(E) both fees shall be waived if (i) the appellant received a waiver of prepaid costs under of Rule 1-325(d) and will be represented in the appeal by an eligible attorney under that section, (ii) the attorney certifies that the appellant remains eligible for representation in accordance with Rule 1-325(d), and (iii) except for an attorney employed or appointed by the Office of the Public Defender in a civil action in which that Office is required by statute to represent the party, the attorney further certifies that to the best of the attorney's knowledge, information, and belief there is good ground to support the appeal and it is not interposed for any improper purpose or delay; and(F) if the appellant received a waiver of prepaid costs under Rule 1-325(e), the lower court and appellate court may rely on a supplemental affidavit of the appellant attesting that the information supplied in the affidavit provided under Rule 1-325(e) remains accurate and that there has been no material change in the appellant's financial condition or circumstances.(2)Procedure.(A) If an appellant requests the waiver of the prepaid costs in both the lower and appellate courts, the lower court, within five days after the filing of the request, shall act on the request for waiver of its prepaid cost and transmit to the appellate court the request for waiver of the appellate court prepaid cost, together with a copy of the request and order regarding the waiver of the lower court prepaid cost.(B) The appellate court shall act on the request for the waiver of its prepaid cost within five business days after receipt of the request from the lower court.(C) If either court denies, in whole or in part, a request for the waiver of its prepaid cost, it shall permit the appellant, within 10 days, to pay the unwaived prepaid cost. If, within that time, the appellant pays the full amount of the unwaived prepaid cost, the appeal shall be deemed to have been filed on the day the request for waiver was filed in the lower court or, as to a petition for certiorari or other extraordinary relief, in the Supreme Court. If the unwaived prepaid costs are not paid in full within the time allowed, the court shall enter an order dismissing the appeal.Adopted March 2, 2015, eff. 7/1/2015; 12/13/2016, eff. 4/1/2017;Adopted April 21, 2023, eff. 4/1/2023.HISTORICAL NOTES
2016 Orders
The December 13, 2016, order removed language that provided that if unwaived prepaid costs are not paid in full within the time allowed the "appeal shall be deemed to have been withdrawn, and added language to require the court to "enter an order striking the appeal if unwaived prepaid costs are not paid in full within the time allowed.