“Charitable Immunity” in Maryland
Published .
The general concept
A nonprofit or charitable organization is not automatically immune from a personal-injury lawsuit simply because it has a charitable mission or tax-exempt status. Maryland recognizes a narrow common-law charitable-immunity doctrine based on the trust status of charitable assets. Separate statutes can limit the liability of qualifying organizations and protect their agents when insurance is available, subject to defined conditions and exceptions.
How Maryland applies it
Under Maryland case law, an organization asserting common-law charitable immunity must establish that its predominant activities are charitable and that the assets at issue are held in trust for charitable purposes; the doctrine generally concerns recovery from uninsured charitable assets. A plaintiff may still pursue recovery to the extent applicable liability insurance is available. The Maryland Associations, Organizations, and Agents Act, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-406, can limit an agent’s personal liability and cap recovery from an association or organization at applicable insurance coverage when statutory requirements are met; it does not create a new cause of action or apply to health-care malpractice suits. Section 5-407 separately limits a qualifying volunteer’s liability for certain acts or omissions of the organization’s agents, subject to statutory exceptions. Malice or gross negligence can change these protections. The organization’s legal status, its assets and trust evidence, policy terms, alleged conduct, and type of claim all require careful review.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §§ 5-406 and 5-407; Abramson v. Reiss, 334 Md. 193 (1994); Howard v. Bishop Byrne Home, 249 Md. 233 (1968); Wood v. Abell, 268 Md. 214 (1973).