Rule 15-1302 - Petition for Approval(a) Petitioner. A petition for court approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights pursuant to Code, Courts Article, Title 5, Subtitle 1100, shall be filed by the proposed transferee of the structured settlement benefits.(b) Venue.(1) If the payee resides in this State, the petition shall be filed in the circuit court for the county in which the payee resides.(2) If the payee does not reside in this State and:(A) the structured settlement was approved by a Maryland court, the petition shall be filed in the circuit court for the county in which the structured settlement was approved; or(B) the structured settlement arose from an action pending in a Maryland court but the structured settlement was not court-approved, the petition shall be filed in the circuit court for the county in which the action was pending when the parties entered into the structured settlement agreement.(c) Contents of Petition. In addition to any other necessary averments, the petition shall: (1) subject to section (d) of this Rule, include as exhibits:(A) a copy of the structured settlement agreement;(B) a copy of any order of a court or other governmental authority approving the structured settlement;(C) a copy of each annuity contract that provides for payments under the structured settlement agreement or, if any such annuity contract is not available, a copy of a document from the annuity issuer or obligor evidencing the payments payable under the annuity policy;(D) a copy of the transfer agreement;(E) a copy of any disclosure statement provided to the payee by the transferee;(F) a written Consent by the payee substantially in the form specified in Rule 15-1303; Cross reference: For shielding requirements applicable to identifying information contained in the payee's Consent, see Rule 16-915(h).
(G) an affidavit by the independent professional advisor selected by the payee, in conformance with Rule 15-1304;(H) a copy of any complaint that was pending when the structured settlement was established; and(I) proof of the petitioner's current registration with the Office of the Attorney General as a structured settlement transferee or a copy of a pending application for registration as specified in Code, Courts Article, § 5-1107, if the Office of the Attorney General has not acted within the time specified in Code, Courts Article, Title 5, Subtitle 11.(2) if the petitioner is not an individual, state (i) the legal status of the petitioner, (ii) whether it is registered to do business in Maryland; and (iii) the name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of any resident agent in Maryland;(3) state the names and addresses and, if known, the telephone numbers and email addresses of all interested parties, as defined in Code, Courts Article, § 5-1101(e);(4) state whether, to the best of the petitioner's knowledge, information, and belief, the structured settlement arose from (A) a claim of lead poisoning, or (B) any other claim in which an allegation was made in a court record of a mental or cognitive impairment on the part of the payee;(5) identify any allegations or statements in any complaint attached under subsection (c)(1)(H) of this Rule that describe the nature, extent, or consequences of the payee's cognitive injuries or disabling impairment; Committee note: To comply with subsection (c)(5) of this Rule, the petitioner should refer to places in the complaint containing the allegations or statements, rather than repeating the allegations or statements in the petition.
(6) state whether there have been any prior transfers or proposed transfers of any of the payee's structured settlement payment rights, and for each prior transfer or proposed transfer: (A) state whether the transferee in each transfer agreement was the petitioner, an affiliate or predecessor of the petitioner, or a person unrelated in any way to the petitioner;(B) identify the court and the number of the case in which the transfer or proposed transfer was submitted for approval;(C) state the disposition of the requested approval; and(D) include as an exhibit a copy of (i) the transfer agreement, (ii) any disclosure statement provided to the payee by the transferee, and (iii) a copy of any court order approving or declining to approve such transfer or otherwise finally disposing of an application for approval of such transfer.(7) state the amounts and due dates of the structured settlement payments to be transferred and the aggregate amount of these payments;(8) state (A) the total amount to be paid under the transfer agreement; (B) the net amount to be received by the payee, after deducting all fees, costs, and amounts chargeable to the payee; and (C) the discounted present value of the payments that would be transferred as determined in accordance with Code, Courts Article, § 5-1101(b); and(9) contain a calculation and statement in the following form: "Based on the net amount that the payee will receive from the transferee and the amounts and timing of the structured settlement payments that the payee is transferring to the transferee, the payee will be paying an implied, annual interest rate of __________ percent per year on this transaction, if it were a loan transaction;(10) state whether, prior to the filing of the petition, there have been any written, oral, or electronic communications between the petitioner and the independent professional advisor selected by the payee with respect to the transfer and, if so, the dates and nature of those communications; and(11) state whether, to the best of the petitioner's knowledge after making reasonable inquiry, the proposed transfer would not contravene any applicable law, statute, Rule, or the order of any court or other government authority. (d) Exhibits. If a settlement agreement, complaint, court order, or other document contains sensitive personal financial or medical information or information subject to a non-disclosure obligation, it shall be filed under seal. If any document required to be attached as an exhibit is unavailable, the petitioner shall state that fact and any effort made by the petitioner to locate and obtain the document.(e) Oath. The petition shall be under oath.(f) Hearing Date and Notice. Upon the filing of a petition under this Rule, the court shall set a hearing date. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the hearing date shall be no earlier than 40 days after the date of filing. The court shall send to the petitioner a written notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing.(g) Service on Interested Parties.(1) The petitioner shall serve on each interested party:(A) subject to subsection (g)(2) of this Rule, a copy of the petition;(B) a copy of the notice of the hearing issued by the court pursuant to section (f) of this Rule; and(C) a separate notice substantially in the following form: [Caption of case] |
IMPORTANT COURT NOTICE |
___________________________has filed the enclosed |
(Name of Petitioner) |
Petition requesting court approval of a transfer of some or all of the structured settlement payment rights of |
(Name of Payee). |
You are named as an "interested party in the petition. As an "interested party, you are entitled to support, oppose, or otherwise respond to the petition, in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the court or by participating in the hearing.
Notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing is enclosed.
(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the petitioner shall not serve a copy of any exhibit that was filed under seal.(h) Method of Service and Proof of Service. The method of service on interested parties required by section (g) of this Rule shall be as provided in Rule 2-121. Proof of service shall be filed in accordance with the method described in Rule 2-126.Md. R. Spec. Proc. 15-1302
Adopted Dec. 7, 2015, eff. 1/1/2016. Amended Dec. 13, 2016, eff. 4/1/2017; amended June 29, 2020, eff. 8/1/2020; amended March 30, 2021, eff. 7/1/2021.HISTORICAL NOTES
2016 Orders
The December 13, 2016, order, amended the Rule to conform to Chapter 722, Laws of 2016 (SB 734 ); added a Committee note following subsection (c)(5); and made stylistic changes.