Waller v. Maryland National Bank

³⁷⁷ PER CURIAM. We summarily grant the petition for certiorari in this case and vacate the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals because of the absence of a final judgment in the trial court. The action of the trial court from which petitioners appealed was the entry of summary judgment in favor of respondent. Although the transcript of proceedings indicates the trial judge intended his ruling to be final without the necessity of a subsequent written order, the clerk erroneously added words to the docket entry indicating a contrary intent.

The docket entry, made on the day the trial court decided the motion, reads: Defendant’s second motion for summary judgment heard and “granted” as to remaining counts 3, 4 and 5. Order to be filed. No subsequent order was presented or filed, presumably because the parties understood the intent of the trial judge and were not aware of the form of the docket entry. The appeal was noted within 30 days of the date of the docket entry.

The Court of Special Appeals correctly observed that the trial judge intended his action to be final; that his order resolved all outstanding claims between the parties; and that the clerk’s addition of the words “[ojrder to be filed” was unauthorized. Waller v. Maryland Nat'l Bank, 95 Md.App. 197, 208 , 620 A.2d 381 (1993). The intermediate appellate court erred, however, when it concluded that the unauthorized portion of the docket entry could simply be disregarded, and the remaining portion treated as a final order. Maryland Rule 2-601, which governs the entry of judgment, provides in pertinent part: (a) When Entered. — Upon a general verdict of a jury or upon a decision by the court allowing recovery only of costs or a specified amount of money or denying all relief, the clerk shall forthwith enter the judgment, unless the court orders otherwise.

Upon a special verdict of a jury or upon ³⁷⁸ a decision by the court granting other relief, the clerk shall enter the judgment as directed by the court. Unless the court orders otherwise, entry of the judgment shall not be delayed pending a determination of the amount of costs. (b) Method of Entry — Date of Judgment. — The clerk shall enter a judgment by making a record of it in writing on the file jacket, or on a docket within the file, or in a docket book, according to the practice of each court, and shall record the actual date of entry. That date shall be the date of the judgment.

In Rohrbeck v. Rohrbeck, 318 Md. 28, 41 , 566 A.2d 767 (1989), we said: If a ruling of the court is to constitute a final judgment, it must have at least three attributes: (1) it must be intended by the court as an unqualified, final disposition of the matter in controversy, (2) unless the court properly acts pursuant to Md.Rule 2-602(b), it must adjudicate or complete the adjudication of all claims against all parties, and (3) the clerk must make a proper record of it in accordance with Md.Rule 2-601. The ruling in the case before us possessed the first and second of these attributes, but not the third. The record made by the clerk certified that the ruling was not final, because a subsequent order was to be filed. See Atlantic Food v. City of Annapolis, 70 Md.App. 721, 725-27 , 523 A.2d 648 (1987) (docket entry ending with statement “Attorneys to prepare Orders” not final).

Rule 2-601 makes it clear that whether a final judgment has been entered must be determined by reference to the docket entry. Accordingly, the date and form of a docket entry purporting to enter final judgment take on special significance. The “date of entry” of a judgment is a term of art that is especially significant in calculating the time periods for