Maryland Code, COMMERCIAL LAW 21-118.1
Terms Used In Maryland Code, COMMERCIAL LAW 21-118.1
- certified mail: includes "registered mail"; and
(3) "registered mail" includes "certified mail". See - Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
(2) “Electronic postmark certificate” means evidentiary proof, provided to the sender or recipient of an electronic record, that the electronic record:
(i) Was postmarked by a postal authority with a valid electronic postmark on the date and time indicated;
(ii) Was transmitted in a certain form on a specific date and time; and
(iii) Was sent by the person indicated, to the person indicated, and on the date and time indicated.
(3) “Postal authority” means:
(i) The United States Postal Service or other national public or private mail delivery service that provides electronic postmarks; or
(ii) A public or private entity that has the regulatory authority or legal responsibility for providing electronic postmarks.
(b) Subject to § 21-117 of this title, a requirement under a law other than this title to send, communicate, or transmit a record by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, or by regular mail is satisfied by an electronic record that:
(1) Is addressed properly or otherwise directed properly to an information processing system that the recipient has designated;
(2) (i) Enters an information processing system that is outside the control of the sender; or
(ii) Enters a region of an information processing system that is under the control of the recipient;
(3) Is postmarked by a postal authority with an electronic postmark; and
(4) Is authenticated by an electronic postmark certificate.
(c) An electronic record is subject to the same legal protections as the United States mail if:
(1) The electronic record meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section; and
(2) The postal authority that postmarked the electronic record under subsection (b)(3) of this section is the United States Postal Service.
(d) This section does not authorize the use of an electronic postmark or electronic postmark certificate for the service of a summons, complaint, or other papers for the purpose of obtaining jurisdiction over a defendant in a lawsuit.