Legal Aid Bureau, Inc. v. Bishop's Garth Associates Ltd. Partnership

GILBERT, Chief Judge.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901, uttered the words, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Those seven words have been quoted many times and are familiar to most schoolchildren in this country. An obvious problem arising from “carrying a big stick” is that of knowing when properly to use it.

Maryland Rule 1-341 arms the courts of this State with “a big stick”—the power to impose sanctions in the form of counsel fees and costs for instituting court proceedings “in bad faith or without substantial justification.”

The…