Personal Representative Cannot Be Sued in His Home State When the Estate Was Opened in Another

A Maryland appeals court finds that the personal representative of an estate that was opened in Washington, D.C., cannot be sued in Maryland, where the personal representative lives, without other connections between the decedent and Maryland. Kortobi v. Kass (Md. Ct. Spec. App., No. 0295, Oct. 6, 2008).

In 2003, M'Hamed Kortobi and Carver Leach, Jr., were involved in a car accident in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kortobi was injured in the accident, but before he filed suit Mr. Leach died. Since Mr. Leach had been a resident of Washington, D.C., his estate was opened there and Brian Kass, an attorney who worked in D.C. but lived in Maryland, was appointed personal representative of the estate. Mr. Kortobi filed a personal injury suit in Maryland against Mr. Kass in his capacity as personal representative, claiming that Maryland's long-arm statute gave it jurisdiction to hear the matter because Mr. Kass lived there. Mr. Kass moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the trial court granted his motion. Mr. Kortobi appealed.

On appeal, Mr. Kortobi argued that Mr. Kass qualified as a "foreign personal representative" of the estate in Maryland and could therefore be sued in Maryland courts under the rule of in personam jurisdiction authorized by the Maryland long-arm statute. Mr. Kass replied that under Maryland law, his actions as personal representative should be governed by the laws of the jurisdiction where he was appointed -- in this case Washington, D.C. He further argued that D.C. law gave him the same standing as Mr. Leach would have had to be sued, and since Mr. Leach had no connections allowing him to be sued under the Maryland long-arm statute, he could not be sued in Maryland either.

The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland agrees with Mr. Kass and upholds the trial court's dismissal. Noting that "it is Leach's status, not Kass's residence, that is the focus of our jurisdictional inquiry," the court finds no evidence that either Leach or his estate established minimum contacts with Maryland. "This is clearly and exclusively a District of Columbia matter," the court concludes.

For the full text of this decision, go to: https://mdcourts.gov/opinions/cosa/2008/295s07.pdf.

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