Appellate Court of Maryland Holds that the Three-Year Statute of Limitations for Claims Filed by Minors under the Maryland Tort Claims Act Begins When the Minor Turns Eighteen, Rather Than at the Time the Cause of Action Arose.

Cameron Cunningham v. State of Maryland, et al., No. 0216, Sept. Term, 2025. Opinion Filed on July 2, 2026, by Wells, C.J.

            In the matter of Cameron Cunningham v. State of Maryland, Cunningham, a minor at the time, was arrested in October 2019 at his high school and injured his left knee during the arrest. He was transported to the hospital for treatment and was released into the Department of Juvenile Services’ (“DJS”) custody with specific instructions to seek follow-up care from his medical providers. However, Cunningham asserted that the State, through its agencies, failed to provide him with the necessary prescribed care while he was in DJS custody for over one (1) year. Cunningham turned eighteen (18) in November 2021. In November 2024, five (5) years after he was injured, but less than three (3) years after he turned eighteen (18), Cunningham filed suit against the State, DJS, and Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (“DPSCS”). The State moved to dismiss the case arguing that Cunningham did not file suit within the three-year requirement laid out by State Government (“SG”) § 12-106(b)(3) which governs actions under the Maryland Tort Claims Act. The State’s motion to dismiss was granted at the circuit court level and Cunningham timely appealed the issue.

            The issue on appeal was whether the Maryland Tort Claims Act’s (“MTCA) three-year filing requirement under SG § 12-106(b)(3) is subject to the tolling for minors outlined in Maryland Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article (“CJ”) § 5-201.

SG § 12-106(b)(3) states, in relevant part, that a claimant under the MTCA must file the action within three (3) years after the cause of action arises while CJ § 5-201 states that when a cause of action accrues in favor of a minor, that person shall file his action within the lesser of three years or the applicable period of limitations after the date the disability is removed—i.e. when the minor’s legal “disability” is removed upon turning eighteen—thus creating a tolling provision for minors.

On appeal, the State argued that the three-year filing requirement is a mandatory condition and Cunningham’s non-compliance with same failed to effectuate a waiver of the State’s sovereign immunity as to his claims. Conversely, Cunningham reasoned that the tolling provision in CJ § 5-201 should apply as Maryland law historically recognized the importance of tolling statues of limitations for minors as a way to protect their legal rights.

 Overall, the Appellate Court held that the minority tolling provision in CJ § 5-201 applies to the MTCA’s three-year filing requirement under SG § 12-106(b)(3), meaning that the statute of limitations now begins to run when the minor turns eighteen and not when the initial Incident occurred. In reaching this decision, the Appellate Court extensively reviewed legislative history and intent of the applicable statutes as well as case law and reasoned that such holding reconciles the longstanding adherence to preserving juveniles’ right to sue while balancing the limited competing interests of the State’s sovereign immunity. While the State has an interest in being put on notice of potential suits, the juvenile’s core right to sue is ultimately more substantial.

Specifically, the Appellate Court was largely concerned with the implication that a minor might be victimized twice, once by the tortfeasor and secondly by the parent should they fail to timely prosecute the claim, as minors were previously required to rely upon their parents to file suit on their behalf within three (3) years of the cause of action. Nonetheless, the Appellate Court maintained that this holding might provide the State more notice of potential suits and can allow the State additional time to prepare its defenses in the case of a minor child.

Ultimately, this holding will protect a minor’s legal rights as they now have until the age of twenty-one to file such causes of action under the MTCA.

 - Regan Krueger, Associate